With no solutions on the horizon from the ministry led by Sandra Pettovello, the universities will go on strike again, this time for 48 hours, on Tuesday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 5. After the massive university march that brought together a million people throughout the country, the Government negotiated – first with the UBA and then with the rest of the study houses – a 270 percent increase in operating expenses. Once that agreement was closed, the universities once again warned that these expenses represent close to 10 percent of the total university budget. The remaining part is mostly salaries. The Government until now has not made offers that reach the inflation of these months. And there are no meetings planned in the short term to unblock the conflict
From the National Interuniversity Council, which had a leading role throughout the first stage of negotiations, for now they hope that Pettovello or his Secretary of Education, Carlos Torrendell, reach an agreement. The CIN clarified to this newspaper that they support the claim, without participating in the forceful measures. And There are no meetings with the CIN planned to discuss salaries, after the last one in which they accepted the increases in operating expenses, then warning that the other 90 percent of the items remained to be discussed.
The last meeting with the unionsbesides, It was last week at the Ministry of Human Capital; there the Government reiterated a salary offer that had already been rejected. It was led by Pettovello and the Undersecretary of University Policies, Alejandro Álvarez, who had been put in chapel for a couple of weeks to control his tendency to shout at the rectors in meetings, was also present again.
The last offer from the national government was to raise salaries 8 percent in April and another 9 percent in May, which is added to the 16 percent granted in February, and 12 percent in March. The teaching unions considered it, in the face of accumulated inflation, insufficient. Pettovello and company only responded that they would forward the claim to the Ministry of Economy.
The strike was called by Trade Union Front of National Universities (FSUN), made up of all teaching and non-teaching federations in the country. University teachers from Conadu, Conadu Historica, UDA Fedun, Ctera, Fagdut and Fatun will participate in the force measure.
“The Government did not make any concrete proposal to respond to the salary loss that keeps more than half of teaching and non-teaching workers below the poverty line”The union federations indicated in a joint statement.
The demands include a monthly salary guideline to avoid continuing to lose against inflation, the recovery of lost purchasing power, the updating of the salary guarantee, the restitution of the National Teacher Incentive Fund (Fonid) and funds for training. The Government still has no answers for any of these items, so the university conflict is far from over, as the presidential spokesperson, Manuel Adorni, wanted to present the last time he addressed the issue.
“This Front promoted in the historic university march on April 23 a document that incorporated the update of operating expenses of the national universities that was channeled this week. We celebrate this principle of solution, but we alert citizens that they represent only 10 percent of the total university budget.“, the teaching unions stated in the statement. “The National Government has the responsibility of offering a proposal that allows teachers and non-teachers to carry out their work. Without decent salaries there is no possibility of a quality public university,” they maintained.
They also stressed that they are going to remain unified, and are not going to accept differences like those that the Government tried to make between the UBA and other universities: “The persistence in the unity and solidarity of the university community defeated the divisive maneuvers that the government intends to implement. And it allowed a triumph over the operating expenses portion of the budget,” said Conadu Historica in another statement.
The CIN had denounced that this agreement discriminated against the rest of the national universities: “It is unacceptable and provocative that it is recognized only for one university and not for the entire system.” “which brings together a group of 60 universities throughout the country, representing two million students from Argentine universities.” “We will not accept that there are first and second year students,” the rectors had stated. Days later, they announced that they would give the same increase to all universities. It was never known why that was not the announcement from the beginning.
“The fight won a partial, very important victory: prevented the university from closing. But the university conflict still does not have a definitive solution. Because, since the new government took office and took the adjustment, devaluation and price deregulation measures, university and pre-university teaching has positions that are below the poverty line,” they noted from the Conadu Historica.
A series of projects to consolidate the financing of universities for the coming years continue to be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies. (see separate note). President Javier Milei has already threatened to veto it if it becomes law.
