The majority union of national public sector employees, UPCN, has accepted the proposal for a 3% salary increase for the months of November and December, which includes a one-time bonus of 30,000 pesos to be paid in December. This agreement, reached with the national government and led by Andrés Rodríguez, represents a cumulative salary increase of 13.14% for the period from June to December 2024.
As part of this understanding, it is planned to increase the monthly amounts of the Attendance Stimulus Bonus according to the percentages established in the clauses. Starting in December, national public employees will receive 30,906 pesos if they miss no days, 21,655 pesos for an unjustified absence in a month, and 12,369 pesos for two unjustified absences from work.
In contrast, ATE, the minority union in the sector, signed in dissent from the agreement and expressed its discontent, labeling the negotiation as yet another episode in the difficult situation faced by state workers since the change of government in December. Rodolfo Aguiar, general secretary of ATE, lamented that "the government is devaluing public sector salaries."
ATE argues that, according to their calculations, state employees will end 2024 with a salary increase of 73%, while the accumulated inflation for the year has already surpassed 101.6% with three months yet to be accounted for. Moreover, this salary increase has little impact on the purchasing power of workers, as Aguiar points out, "the bonus doesn't even cover half a tank of gas and four bonuses of that kind would be needed to pay an electricity bill."
