"We are going to a year of much unity and fight"

We talked with the companion Staiti on Friday 16, before the joint meeting to which the National Government has called. Francisca told us, first of all, the importance of the meeting of the State and Guilds Front of State Companies held on February 15 at the ATE headquarters in CABA: “This is the second meeting we make. The first was on December 5 of last year, in which we participated centrally organizations of the Autonomous CTA, and what we fight is to add unions of other centrals. I believe that the 15th meeting was very important, with guilds, delegates, internal and federations, with which we agreed to unify the fight against Milei's attacks against the entire public system, and the State as guarantor of rights. From the political point of view it was very important, since we agreed a day of struggle with mobilizations towards the end of February, if possible, splicing with the claim of Ctera, rejecting this policy of dismissals and the state of the State.

“And we also agreed to advance with the dissemination of what is done from our places, be it in the universities, companies and different instances of the State, to dismantle the fallacies of this government, for example, that state companies are deficient. The sovereignty sounded like a fundamental issue, with examples of many partners who defend it in their workplaces. We saw the need to disseminate what a state is present or anchored and is absent from education, health, road safety, etc.

“The plenary claimed for the urgent reinstatement of all and all the firing colleagues, and in addition to specific actions of different guilds, advance in the concretion of a new great national unemployment with mobilization, such as January 24. Because beyond the Bus Law was defeated, the DNU is still in force, and this government continues to liquefy the salaries and apply a brutal adjustment. ”

The situation in universities

Francisca tells us that the coup of the government over universities occurs in two ways: “On the one hand is the liquefaction of wages, as in the rest of national state. Our salary is devaluing it, to be able to meet that objective of the "zero deficit." In January, university teachers and researchers had no salary recomposition. We come from 6% increase in December, and in February we had 10%, to charge in March. This is a salary loss well above 100%, in relation to inflation of these months. And while we have a new call to peers, we know that the offer will be poor.

“Therefore, there is a complicated year, because we will want to continue liquefying the salary, and it will surely be a year of a lot of struggle, that we will try to be with the widest unit with the set of teaching federations. This also came out in the state plenary, the need to achieve the widest unit and organization to hit together.

“The other issue at the University is the budget. We continue with that of 2023, and as the rectors have already warned, with this budget the operation of universities beyond March or April is not guaranteed.

“We are going to try to coordinate the protest with all the sectors of the university, the students, the non -teachers and the rectors themselves, so that in unity we go out to claim what corresponds to us.

“There are sectors that seek to face this lack of budget with different mercantilist alternatives, such as the sale of services or tariff, which would go to a privatization of university education, not recognized. From the historical Conadu we planted ourselves as guarantors of the college gratuity. And in that I think we agree with all the federations. ”

The Secretary of the Historical Conadu says that “this is going to be a year of a lot of struggle. And we want it to be an in conjunction of all sectors, as stated in the state plenary. That is why we are meeting with the other University Teaching Federations, stopping the differences to put in front of the needs we have.

“From universities we are in a battle for intellectual sovereignty, in the face of this policy that aims to privatize and the sale of everything in Argentina. When I speak of intellectual sovereignty I mean the defense of science, technology, and everything that is taught and investigated in the public university. All this cannot fall into private hands.

“We have to discuss which is the best exit, for the needs of the people and the homeland, not that the market decides, as they say. Because they are privileged only some careers, finance, economy, and those that always lose are social or humanistic calls.

“We do not deny that the market exists, and that many and many of those who graduate are incorporated into that market, in various ways. What we propose is what the university is for. ”

Francisca dismisses us ensuring that the budget drowning will begin to feel shortly, as soon as the activities start in universities, some of which have already begun, and they are expected to be fully in the last week of March.

“That budget drowning feels differently in universities. Some have outsourced all safety and cleaning tasks, and there are already attempts to allocate administrators to these tasks. That is why I say that we are going to a year of intense fight against this national government policy. ”

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National Universities Unions Front

On Friday 16, the National Government offered just a 6% salary increase for the month of February, which was rejected by all the guilds present. "The loss of the purchasing power of the salary of teachers and nodocentes is more than 50% with respect to the inflation of the months of December and January," denounced a guild document, adding "the government intends to establish a salary reduction for teaching Pre -University removing the fonid. That incentive represents a significant percentage of the pre -university salary. ”

Prior to the joint meeting, the National Universities Unions Front was formed, composed of Historical Conadu -Conadu -Fedun -Fagdut -UDA -ctera -fatun, guilds belonging to the Autonomous CTA, CTA of the workers and CGT.

Responsible for the National Government of the conflict, the guilds culminate the document affirming "we defend the public and free university at the service of the great majorities, decent wages for workers and decent workers and retirements."

Today N ° 1999 02/21/2024