According to the UOM, the conflict intensified after exhausting all dialogue instances without obtaining concrete responses from the involved contracting firms or from the steel company, which the union held ultimately responsible due to its role as the principal company of the establishment. In an official statement, the union organization stated that the strike was resolved “after a series of unresolved conflicts” and due to “the total lack of responses from the contracting companies and the parent company.” The strike action was decided upon after a series of layoffs in contracting firms that provide services within the industrial complex, layoffs that the union described as unjustified and discriminatory. The decision was made after a delegates' meeting held with the Internal Commission and the Directive Board of the union. From the union, they announced that they will continue to inform on the evolution of the strike and any possible negotiations through their official channels, while the plant remains paralyzed and expectations grow for an intervention that can unblock the conflict. In this context, they warned that the situation is taking place in a complex economic context for the region, where the steel industry plays a central role as an engine of direct and indirect employment. Likewise, the union leadership linked the conflict to a broader scenario of industrial sector restructuring, stating that adjustment and free-market policies are deepening labor precariousness and weakening working conditions in activities strategic to the national economy. Finally, the UOM affirmed that the responsibility for the conflict lies exclusively with the companies involved and ratified its decision to maintain the strike action until there are concrete responses and solutions for the dismissed workers. The immediate trigger, they indicated, was the dismissal of workers with years of seniority in the plant, some of them with an extensive track record in key tasks of the production process. From the UOM, they denounced that the drop in production levels is being used as an argument to advance in a personnel cut that mainly affects operators with more experience, who would be displaced and eventually replaced by younger labor with more precarious working conditions. For the union, this practice constitutes a violation of basic labor rights and a form of discrimination that attacks employment stability. The union also emphasized the social impact of the layoffs, by stressing that the dismissed workers are not “disposable,” but people with a work history, commitment to the industrial activity, and families that depend on those incomes. Villa Constitución, Santa Fe, January 17, 2026 – Total News Agency-TNA – The Metalworkers' Union (UOM) of Villa Constitución announced a total strike of activities for an indefinite period at the Acindar plant, which will begin on Monday, January 19, at 6 in the morning.
