In the last few hours, the Ministry of Security notified the Autonomous Workers’ Union, Truck Drivers, the Metallurgical and Construction Workers’ Union, the National Territorial Federation and organizations of other union centers and social movements for mobilizations carried out on December 22nd and 27th.
The Ministry of Security sent notes to the said entities asking them to pay 56,760,282 and 40,419,227 pesos (71,396 and 50,841 dollars, respectively) to cover the costs of the police operations deployed in those dates.
“This is a new provocation from the Executive Branch. It is an attempt to silence any demonstration by organized workers in expression of their legitimate demands, in the face of the most regressive labor reform in the entire democratic history of our country,” a CGT statement says.
“This illegitimate affront, contrary to the Constitution, which exposes the government’s vocation to ignore freedom of association, the right to strike and protest, will not condition the organized labor movement,” it adds.
In similar sense, the International Federation of Transport Workers repudiated the Ministry’s actions, considering it a criminalization of demonstrations in Argentina.
The attempt to implement economic punishments for exercising the right to protest, borders on the practices of totalitarian and authoritarian governments and is unconstitutional, he said.
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