The CGT union confederation and its allies will lead a general strike on Monday and Tuesday to protest the austerity measures of the Mauricio Macri government.
It is expected to be the biggest of the four general strikes against the government since President Macri took office in 2015.
Pickets, marches and other events will happen throughout Monday and Tuesday. However, the strike itself will take place on Tuesday, with the total halt of all economic activity and transport.
Tensions between the unions and government have heightened since the Macri administration announced a US$50-billion loan package with the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Macri is currently attempting to negotiate a series of austerity measures with governors to be implemented through the 2019 Budget.
Meanwhile, several acute areas of conflict remain at boiling point, including stalled collective wage bargaining in the education sector and mass layoffs at the Télam state-run news agency and in the shipyard sector.
FLIGHTS RESCHEDULED
Various sectors within the union movement are expected to adhere to Tuesday's strike, including the Argentine Workers’ Central Union (CTA) and the Teamsters union led by the powerful Moyano clan.
Taxis, airports, schools, hospitals, banks, ports, shops and bars are expected to close, as well as potentially supermarkets. The biggest impact, however, will be a complete shutdown of public transport, with no train, subway or bus services.
Aviation unions are also adhering to the strike. On Sunday, state-run airline Aerolíneas Argentinas confirmed it was reprogramming all flights otherwise scheduled for Tuesday.
The airline reported that in order "to avoid further complications" it would bring forward flight to 20.00 and 24.00 Monday (today). Passengers can also request full refunds, the carrier confirmed.
-TIMES/PERFIL
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