The Government reached a salary restructuring agreement with the Union of Civil Personnel of the Nation (UPCN) for national public employees. According to the agreement, a 1.5% increase is established for January and 1.2% for February. The negotiation was signed by UPCN and rejected by ATE (Association of State Workers), which announced its intention to continue protesting.
The agreement also includes an increase in attendance bonuses for certain sectors, rising from $30,000 to $50,000. This negotiation is part of a bargaining period that began in June and will last until June 2025. In response, ATE declared itself on alert and in permanent assembly, calling for a federal plenary to define new measures of force.
Rodolfo Aguiar, ATE leader, expressed his dissatisfaction with the increases from the 2024 bargaining, which barely reached 73.3% compared to an inflation rate of 117.8%. Aguiar criticized the bargaining for worsening the economic situation of public employees and for being used to condition other salary negotiations.
The cumulative salary increases so far reach 16.22%. The Government received the negotiating delegates from UPCN and ATE at the headquarters of the Ministry of Labor to resume salary negotiations after a recess at the end of last year. ATE has rejected salary cap impositions and warned of potential future conflicts, especially in the context of a new decree that will focus on mergers and closures of public agencies.
