The Single Union of Customs Personnel of the Argentine Republic (SUPARA) reported this Monday (18.6.2018) the decision to carry out force measures in the following days, according to the release:
SUPARA
The Federal Administration has clearly expressed the policy it intends to implement regarding salaries for customs workers and is implementing an adjustment plan that includes the exclusion of wage negotiations, the substantial reduction of the hierarchical fund, the reduction of hours, extraordinary services and rates that may affect the interests and costs of private companies.
While all public and private sector trade unions are legitimately demanding an increase in their salaries, the AFIP is absurdly and unacceptably trying to exclude us from any salary increase until June 2019.
But not satisfied with this arbitrariness, they also want to lower the appropriation rate of the hierarchical fund by 30%, decreasing it from the current 0.72 to 0.55%, because they maintain that "it is necessary to save part of the revenue" to allocate it to building improvements, infrastructure, connectivity, computer parks, etc. All this based on what they call "a customs office in deplorable conditions."
The real news in all this is that they intend to pay for it with our salaries. That is, that the cost of these improvements will be covered by the customs officers' pockets.
HOW FAR DO THEY EXPECT US TO MAKE THE EFFORT?
Our work day is 8 hours a day, according to what is established by our Collective Labor Agreement. However, the Federal Administration of Public Revenue establishes for the Customs an operational working schedule of 12 hours for the Single Union of Customs Personnel of the Argentine Republic to attend to Foreign Trade. Therefore, there are 4 hours a day where again the Customs -with the effort of its workers- subsidizes part of the costs to the Private Sector.
Added to this is the continuous reduction of our permanent staff - due to retirements that are never replaced - causing a workload, the dangerous weakening of controls and an excessive demand in the tasks with the occupational risks that this implies. While the policies of the Agency and the National State only tend to favour the interests of the market and the private sector, removing them from any responsibility in the face of this critical national situation, we workers continue to contribute with our daily effort.
High inflation and devaluation have already had a direct impact on workers' income. The most favorable economic forecasts already speak of inflation of close to 30% for this year. The National Government cannot expect that the fiscal deficit will be supported by our salaries and that these will be used as the adjustment variable for an economic policy that allowed the entry of speculative capital and that led our country to be the largest borrower in the world in the last 2 years. 12% of the National Budget is entirely allocated to paying interest on the debt. To expect that this festival will be paid for by workers' income is an absurd utopia. We will not be the ducks at the wedding.
We customs officers have already made too much effort with:
– the removal of 0.03% of the coefficient of the hierarchical fund (in judicial stage),
– the freezing of the permanent plant,
– the reduction of hours allocated to control in border areas,
– the lack of investment in resources of all kinds,
– the precarious building conditions in which they carry out control tasks,
– the exclusion of benefits derived from “tax amnesty” and the marked wage asymmetry.
With the strength and support of the workers, we will not allow our income to continue to be exploited, nor will we allow the rights that we have all achieved through years of struggle to be trampled upon.
WORKERS ARE NOT PART OF THE PROBLEM, WE ARE PART OF THE SOLUTION
THEREFORE THE NATIONAL PLENARY OF DELEGATES RESOLVES:
Join the national strike called by the CGT on June 25.
Carry out a National Strike with presence in the workplace FROM 00:00 HOURS. UNTIL 24 HOURS. ON THURSDAY 28, without the provision of extraordinary services or overtime under any modality during non-working hours.
Carry out a National Strike without presence in the workplace FROM 00:00 HRS. UNTIL 24:00 HRS. ON FRIDAY, JUNE 29, without providing extraordinary services or overtime under any modality during non-working hours.
Carry out a National Strike without presence in the workplace FROM 00:00 HOURS ON THURSDAY, JULY 5 UNTIL 24:00 HOURS ON FRIDAY, JULY 6 INCLUSIVE, without providing extraordinary services or overtime under any modality during non-working hours.
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