The coming hours will be crucial to define the outcome of the tense wage negotiations between the Metalworkers' Union (UOM) and the chambers of the steel industry in search of new salary increases for employees in the sector. The extension of the mandatory conciliation mandated by the Ministry of Labor expires on Friday, the 25th, following a failed meeting last Tuesday. The parties have one last attempt to resolve the conflict before this deadline ends.
In the union led by Abel Furlán, there is pessimism about receiving a salary offer that meets their expectations. They are preparing to call for a possible strike next week, once the conciliation is over, which would affect all plants in the country. In the last Zoom meeting, both the UOM and the Steel Chamber showed inflexible positions.
The metalworkers' union seeks to bring to the negotiating table a proposal similar to the one agreed for the metalworking sector: a quarterly agreement of 14% with retroactive character and a review clause for the staggered increases. The business side has proposed a monthly increase of 2% for each of the four months, linked to the official devaluation of the peso determined by the Government, a proposal that the UOM rejects.
Workers in the metalworking sector (branch 17) have already completed the recomposition scheme set for the sector, with a 12.54% increase divided into four parts. They agreed on the retroactive payment corresponding to July, which will be made with the salaries of the first half of August. In addition, they set the new minimum global reference income at $727,823 starting in October and committed to reviewing the agreement starting November 15, evaluating macroeconomic variables and the level of activity for the last quarter of 2024.
