Strike paralyses tyre production, forces closure of car plants

Labour tensions rise as industrial action brings tyre production and activity at two major car factories to a complete halt.

Astrike by workers demanding higher wages brought tyre production and activity at two major car factories to a complete halt this week as labour tensions soared. “The strike is affecting the entire automotive chain,” the government’s Industry Secretary José de Mendiguren confirmed to the A24 television news channel.

The strike is being carried out by 5,600 employees of major tyre manufacturers, including the market leader Bridgestone, multinational producer Pirelli and local firm FATE, in a trade union conflict that has spread to “the Toyota and Ford plants because they lack the stock they need,” claimed De Mendiguren.

Labour Ministry officials met with representatives from the union and the relevant business chamber throughout the week though talks remained at a standstill as of Thursday night.

Union sources told the Noticias Argentinas news agency that they would not accept the latest wage offer, which came after 35 failed meetings between representatives from all sides.

PARALYSED

The wage dispute involving the Sindicato Único de Trabajadores del Neumático (SUTNA) union has been going on for more than 100 days without agreement, but the situation has worsened since the weekend as work at factories was paralysed.

Pirelli said it was halting production last Sunday. A source at the company confirmed to the TN news channel that the firm had “stopped the entire operation” until the blockade imposed by the SUTNA tyre-makers union is lifted.

National producer Fate confirmed a halt in its production on Saturday, a day after Japanese multinational Bridgestone declared a “temporary” closure of its operations in Argentina.

“The employers are in fact trying to impose the closure of the 2021-2022 wage negotiations, ignoring the demands of the workers and proposing an insignificant increase of 38 percent when government projections of inflation reach 100 percent for that period,” the SUBNA union said in a statement.

De Mendiguren criticised the extent of the union protest by indicating that “of the 265 industrial salaries [in Argentina], the tyre industry has the 19th best average salary.”

He claimed that the paralysis affected 127,000 direct and indirect jobs in the national automotive chain.

The secretary added that vehicle exports increased by 70 percent this year compared to 2019’s data, before the coronavirus pandemic.

Reacting to the walkout, Economy Minister Sergio Massa warned that the government would approve the importing of tyres should a resolution not be reached soon.

“We cannot be hostage to whims and a very small group that puts 150,000 jobs at risk,” said the head of the Treasury, who also argued that “Argentina cannot afford to lose almost US$40 million a day.”

“We cannot be, in any way, hostage to situations of inflexibility,” he told a meeting of company executives and government officials.

AIRPORT CHAOS

Domestic and international travellers going through airports in Buenos Aires were delayed by strike action on Tuesday as labour unrest forced the cancellation of flights.

Air traffic at Ezeiza International Airport, on the outskirts of the capital and Buenos Aires City’s Jorge Newbery Airport was badly affected by industrial action launched by the Association of State Workers (ATE) union based on a wage and contract dispute.

At least 12 flights to destinations including San Luis, Formosa, Jujuy, Rosario, Bahía Blanca and Río Grande were cancelled with state airline Aerolíneas Argentinas hit by staff shortages.

Marcelo Belelli, the national coordinator of the ATE-ANAC workers unions, said that the unions were seeking an “emergency wage increase” from the government, as well as “the opening of negotiations to beat inflation and the fulfilment of the transfer of 30,000 workers in the sector to permanent status.”