The Union of Grain Receivers and Annexes (Urgara) announced a cessation of activities in ports from 19 p.m. today until 6 a.m. on March 25 considering that their activity is "not essential" and that, according to their interpretations, it should not be included among the activities that are excluded from the social isolation decreed by the Government.
According to business chambers in the sector, the strike would jeopardize the loading of 18 ships for a total of 2,2 million tons of grain and they expect the Ministry of Labor to issue a mandatory conciliation.
In a statement, Urgara, whose workers are responsible for classifying grains at the ports, indicated that the organization sees "with deep concern, how businessmen in the agro-export sector ignore the regulations issued by the president, making erroneous, malicious, and inappropriate interpretations of art. 6 of the DNU (paragraphs 13 and 15) that establishes the exceptions to compliance with the isolation measure«.
This article establishes the activities that are exempt from mandatory social isolation to prevent the coronavirus, including those related to agricultural and fishing production, distribution and marketing and those "non-deferrable activities related to foreign trade."
According to Urgara, "this DNU cannot be interpreted without analyzing the context in which it was issued, the global crisis caused by the pandemic, the growing number of infected and dead people due to the virus, and without taking into account the regulations issued prior to it."
"Everything leads us to conclude that our activity is not essential (exporting), and that only the minimum essential staff should be maintained, as indicated in Resolutions 202 and 207 of the MTEySS," the union stressed.
The president of the Chamber of the Oil Industry and the Center of Cereal Exporters, Gustavo Idígoras, said that "The unions interpret things differently and this causes us to have 8.000 trucks stopped in the ports«.
The business leader said that "we are waiting for the Ministry of Labor to issue a mandatory conciliation" because, he warned, The strike puts at risk "the loading of 18 ships with 2,2 million tons of grain, which if not fulfilled would mean that Argentina would enter the list of countries outside the system, since it cannot operate, beyond the fines«.
He also stressed that "a few days ago a health protocol was agreed upon that was drafted by the union, so we do not really know what is happening."
Source: Telam
Aduana News foi o primeiro jornal aduaneiro da Argentina a lançar sua versão digital. Com mais de 20 anos de trajetória, suas publicações e iniciativas têm como objetivo oferecer o conhecimento mais relevante sobre temas aduaneiros, contribuindo para a promoção do comércio seguro e da facilitação do comércio na região.
