MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Argentine organized labour leader challenges CFK with massive political rally

Hugo Moyano, the only inflation for workers is the “supermarket inflation”

A few hours before Truckers’ Day to be celebrated at a soccer stadium and in the midst of the dispute with the Argentine government, the leader of organized labour CGT, Hugo Moyano again challenged President Cristina Fernandez saying that inflation to discuss wages is that of the supermarkets.

“Take notice, for us the inflation rate to discuss salaries and benefits continues to be inflation at the supermarket”, said the powerful leader of the teamsters ahead of next year’s round of negotiations for which the Argentine government has anticipated it expects unions to reach agreements with lower increases than those of 2011.

Moyano also made his statements the same day the Congressional inflation index for November was announced, 1.44%, while on Thursday and Truckers’ Day the official inflation index is expected to be announced by the government stats office, Indec, which is considerably lower than the private estimates.

According to private consultants banned from making their estimates public, annual inflation in Argentina is above 20% while the official Indec index remains frozen below the two digits. A very sensitive issue for President Cristina Fernandez who brushes aside the controversy arguing that what matters are the growth and development indexes.

“When we sit to discuss the workers’ salary I will do so with the same strength and commitment that in recent years”, underlined Moyano at a political rally during the inauguration of a clinic for the union.

And “the inflation rate for those negotiations will be the supermarket inflation, the workers’ pocket inflation”, he insisted adding that “they shouldn’t be afraid of me, what they need to learn is respect for the workers who represent the union”.

The reappearance of Moyano in the political scene following his several weeks absence because of the loss of a son, comes ahead of the massive rally to celebrate Truckers’ Day which will be a demonstration of his power and allegiance in the midst of the challenge with the administration of Cristina Fernandez and the dispute with other rival groups in the CGT planning to challenge his leadership in next year’s election.

Likewise Moyano’s son Pablo, joint secretary of the Truck Drivers’ union and organizer of the Thursday rally called on fellow workers saying that the “the only way for workers to keep reaching their goals” is by continuing their struggle.

“The only way for us workers to keep reaching our goals is by continuing our struggle, like it’s always been” said Pablo Moyano who anticipated he expected “more than 80.000 workers” to show up at the rally.

“Our organization was at the core of the resistance that led the fight against the neo-liberal economic models,” he shot.

He called on all members of the Truck Drivers’ union to show up in order to “overflow the Huracán stadium until it bursts” as a clear display of support and to “back our secretary general Hugo Moyano and his plight.”

The union’s press department released a special statement urging workers to attend the rally. The document was signed by the organization’s Interior secretary Walter Anchava, who also assured they were expecting “between 70 and 80 thousand people to join them.”

“We’re extremely happy to be able to get together on December 15th in order to express our gratitude to the Secretary General (Daddy Moyano) for all of our achievements throughout all these years,” the statement read.