Teachers and non-teaching workers at national universities across the country will begin a new week of protests this Tuesday demanding “living wages.” There will be three days in which there will be no strike but rather activities to “make visible” the conflict. In addition, they will gather in front of the Pizzurno Palace, headquarters of the Education Secretariat of the Ministry of Human Capital.
The measure is promoted by the University Trade Union Front, which is made up at the national level of the teaching unions Fedun, Conadu, Conadu Historica, Fagdut, UDA, Ctera and the non-teaching unions grouped in Fatun.
The national days of protest will be extended on Tuesday, June 25, Wednesday, June 26, and Thursday, June 27, in addition to the demonstration on Tuesday at 12. The demand will be made visible through public classes, assemblies, open radio stations, and flyers.
In a statement, they indicated that the measures are carried out “in the complete absence of responses from the national government” with the aim of “insisting on the need to urgently call for wage parity.” And they stated that “without decent salaries the university does not work.”
Among the arguments are the “decision of the National Government to delay a response to the great wage crisis.” While they pointed out that the increase granted to the houses of higher education for operating expenses is not enough “(10% of the total budget) because the recovery of the salaries of teachers and non-teachers and the scholarships that allow students to stay in college and graduate.”
The salary claim remains unresolved
After the massive march to demand the university budget, the government of President Javier Milei reached an agreement with the rectors to increase by 270% the amounts for operating expenses allocated to the houses of higher education. However, it did not resolve the conflict regarding teaching and non-teaching salaries.
The last salary increase granted to university workers was 4%, in a month in which the inflation measurement was 4.2, which was below inflation. While since December, salaries increased by 61.4% while the inflation rate was 83.3%.
The last offer from the national government to university unions was 9% for May, which was added to the 16% granted in February, 12% in March and 8% in April that had been agreed under the previous government administration.
On May 28, the last joint meeting took place, which was headed by Minister Sandra Petovello, and Alejandro Álvarez, Undersecretary of University Policies. However, there was no new proposal and the response was “that the issue was going to be transferred to the Ministry of Economy”, according to what the unions indicated after the meeting.
To make the claim visible, university strikes are carried out under various modalities, with open classes, flyers, demonstrations and even a torchlight march in defense of public education. Credit: Manuel Fabatia / Archive. It is within this framework that university unions demand the reopening of joint ventures. To make this claim visible, they have been carrying out forceful measures under various forms of protest, with open classes, flyers, and even a torchlight march in defense of public education.
“The national university conflict remains open, due to the government’s decision to increase only 10% of the university budget corresponding to operating expenses and freezing the remaining 90% that corresponds to the salaries of those of us who work in universities,” they explained.
Support from the rectors
Days ago, the rectors of the national universities came out to express their “deep concern” at the “impossibility of finding agreements at the national level that would allow for the necessary and urgent recomposition of the salaries of teaching and non-teaching workers at the universities.” ”.
Rectors supported the teaching claim and asked the Nation for “urgent” measures to increase salaries. Through a statement, the Executive Committee of the National Interuniversity Council (CIN) expressed “total support” for the “just claim” of the workers in the sector. And they asked for “will and decision on the part of the national government to invest the funds to reverse the loss of purchasing power of wages within the framework of the inflationary process.”
Likewise, the authorities at the university level stated that the “state of alert regarding the salary situation experienced by teaching and non-teaching workers in the university system” remains in force.
“There is no excellent education without decent salaries, so an urgent response is essential that does not harm the enormous effort that our communities have made throughout this first semester to guarantee conditions that allow the normal functioning of our universities,” they indicated. in support of the claim of university workers.
In contrast, the rectors highlighted that the Government confirmed the allocation of 270% for operating expenses from June to December 2024. At the same time, they reported that technical meetings had begun with the Ministry of Education to prepare the 2025 University Budget.
