Buenos Aires, December 4 (NA) – The Argentine Transport Workers' Union (UTA) will decide whether there will be a bus strike on Friday, December 5, in the Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area, following the increase in subsidies ordered by the Government. The transport union called for a work stoppage on the last business day of the first week of December due to the business decision to pay the current month's salaries and the bonus (aguinaldo) in installments. In the announcement of the strike, the UTA stated that “the Government will be responsible for the workers going on strike so that they receive on time and in full the salaries they have earned and that constitute the sustenance of their families, in the face of the threat from Business Chambers to pay salaries in two parts and to split the bonus into installments”. The union's position is to proceed with forceful measures if, during the course of the day, drivers do not receive the full payment of their salaries and the December half-bonus, as learned by the Argentine News Agency. The disbursement of more funds to companies by the State, approved this Thursday in the Official Bulletin, aims to convince worker representatives to call off the strike with the promise that salary payments will be normalized shortly. So far, the UTA's decision has remained firm, but business leaders and national authorities are confident they can reverse the situation, relying on the sector's companies' increased capacity to respond after the increase in tariff compensations. In the afternoon, the ratification or lifting of the measure of force could be known, amidst last-minute negotiations for union tolerance to prevail over the commitment to regularize salary payments.
