The government of the province of Buenos Aires is closely following what is happening in Misiones where police, teachers, doctors and other sectors carry out a series of force measures with roadblocks and camps in different parts of the city of Posada, which They have the administration in check Hugo Passalacqua. They link it to the definancing process that the national government applies to the provinces and warn that in the case of Buenos Aires, The agreements and joint negotiations that they drew up with the public administration sectors close a contagion effect.
“It is a particular situation in Misiones, but “It has to do with the financial suffocation that the national government gives it.”assured the Buenos Aires Minister of Government, Carlos Bianco. The official who serves as spokesperson for the administration of Axel Kicillof He recalled that in Buenos Aires “we are carrying out a monthly parity policy where In the last five months of the year we have closed joint ventures with the approval of all the unions trying to follow the inflation problem as closely as possible so that our workers do not lose purchasing power.”
Bianco stated that the situation in Misiones was already evident in other provinces and that it is directly related to the politics of the adjustment of non-automatic transfers that the national government applied in the first part of its management with direct impact on the financial structure of the provinces. “If the suffocation that they are carrying out with the provinces is so that we vote for a law that does not have a single article that favors the people of Buenos Aires – in relation to the Base Law – don’t look here. “We are not going to support in any way,” she remarked in statements to A24.
The conflict in Misiones has been escalating. As I realized Infobae, in the northeastern province, a group of health workers took over the headquarters of that provincial portfolio this Wednesday, thus joining the salary demands of the teaching, police and prison sectors, who decided to march and mobilize there as a sign of support. The workers of the Light and Force guild also joined. Last Tuesday the missionary government offered a 20% raise to the police and other sectors that was flatly rejected. The police – who are prohibited from carrying out forceful measures – demands a 100% increase. Meanwhile, continue camping at the radio command in Posadas.
In Buenos Aires they highlight that every month there were salary increases for public administration workers and always on par with the inflationary number. Strictly speaking, in January the salary increase was 25%, in February 20%, in March 13.5% and in April 9.5%. Days ago, the unions accepted the offer of 7.5%. The increases also impact the salaries of the Buenos Aires police.
“We are making the necessary balances to be able to pay as we have done until now.a, as we did in December, in all these months and in this case the bonus in time and form, trying to have a joint venture that maintains the purchasing power of the workers. This is not without efforts and certain modifications in our government program that we will not be able to make. There are programs that we did not launch this year, precisely due to lack of resources that the national government cut us,” Bianco said.
The Minister of Economy had said something similar this week, Pablo Lopez, by participating in the press conference that the Buenos Aires Government organized to announce the salary improvement in the salaries of public administration workers. On that occasion, last Monday, the provincial official explained that “in a context of cutting non-automatic transfers, which in some cases directly affects the salaries of workers, as is the case of FONID; of a brutal fall in economic activity that causes collection to fall in real terms today and the withdrawal of the national State from the functions it must fulfill, the Province makes a great effort to accompany the loss of purchasing power of salaries with salary increases. caused by the policies of the national government.”
For the national government, the case of Misiones is a matter of provincial jurisdiction. The presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adornihad stated that “it is an issue that the province will resolve accordingly,” and that “the Nation’s expenses were adjusted quite a bit, and the accounts of the provinces have to be adjusted by an amount sufficient to balance them”. Misiones will not ask for financial help from the national government.
Under Kicillof’s management, Buenos Aires went through an experience with some similarities to what is happening in Misiones, specifically with the police. It was between August and September 2020 when current and retired members of the Buenos Aires Police led a series of demands for salary improvements. At that time, the Buenos Aires Minister of Security was Sergio Berni The solution to the conflict at that time came from the national government.
The Fiscal Strengthening Fund was created, which involved a supplement to try to alleviate the imbalance of co-participation with which Buenos Aires has been living for years. It was a mass of resources that initially amounted to $400,000 million in addition to the co-participation. The primary demand that was covered with this fund was the improvement of salaries and equipment for the Buenos Aires police forces, which ended up bringing salaries into line with those of the federal forces.
The arrival of Milei and his adjustment policy meant for the province of Buenos Aires the elimination of that fund in question. On February 26 of this year, the Strengthening Fund was eliminated by decree. Buenos Aires filed an amparo in the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation to continue receiving the funds, until the underlying issue is resolved. The highest court has not issued a ruling so far. Despite the financial complexity, Buenos Aires maintains that the payment of the bonus in the middle of the year is guaranteed.
