Argentina's Ministry of Human Capital on Wednesday called on the La Fraternidad and Unión Tranviarios Automotor (UTA) unions to “refrain from carrying out any direct action measures they had planned to implement.” This is in the context of the general strike called by the CGT for this Thursday, as both unions are under mandatory conciliation due to ongoing conflicts over salary demands. The ministry, led by Sandra Pettovello, emphasized that if the bus drivers' and train engineers' unions join the strike, they would be “violating the legal norms governing Mandatory Labor Conciliation, which is currently in full process.” “The adoption of any forceful measure would constitute a breach of the mandatory labor conciliation duly ordered and currently in effect,” the ministry insisted in a brief statement accessed by the Argentine News Agency. The UTA had not adhered to the CGT's strike last year precisely because a mandatory conciliation was in effect for a salary conflict. However, it has now decided it will participate in the strike. The union confirmed this in a statement clarifying that it will adhere to the transport shutdown “in defense of labor rights, curtailed by the proposed labor reform.”
