Government officials of Buenos Aires province are to meet with representatives from teachers’ unions to discuss salary issues this afternoon.

96 Horas de Paro (Photo source: www.suteba.org.ar)

With respect to today’s meeting, Governor Daniel Scioli said: “They are asking for dialogue and I am a specialist– a fanatic of dialogue, and of meetings with workers and doing all there is that we need to do.”

Alberto Pérez, head of Scioli’s cabinet, is to sit down delegates from the Buenos Aires Labour Front in the coming hours to discuss their demands for higher teachers’ wages. The provincial Minister of Work, Oscar Cuartango, and General Director of Culture and Education Nora de Lucía are also expected to attend today’s meeting.

Officials hope that an accord might be reached in today’s discussions to end the conflict that has escalated into 12 separate strikes since the beginning of this school year.

In comments to Radio 10, Pérez stated that to date the provincial government has reached accords with “all of the workers within the province of Buenos Aires– across all spectrums, except for the teachers’ sector,” which has failed to recognise its proposed salary increase of 22.6%. This amount has been accepted by other trade unions that have similarly called for wage increases this year in the midst of rising inflation levels.

“We don’t understand how an accord that is good for all the unions at 22.6% does not work for the teachers,” he added. Pérez also said that the provincial officials are confident that an agreement will be reached with the teachers soon, as “education, security, and health are the essential services that the province provides”.

However, today’s meeting comes after teachers throughout the province held a 96-hour strike last week. Some union heads have since announced that they will continue similar measures until the 22.6% salary increase mandated by Scioli in April is recognised by the entire provincial administration. Others, like Unified Union of Educational Workers in Buenos Aires (SUTEBA) leader Roberto Baradel, reject the proposed salary increase all together and are committed to continuing strikes until a higher percent increase is adopted.

Mauricio Macri. (Photo courtesy of Gobierno de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires)

Mauricio Macri, head of the city government of Buenos Aires, opened the 16th period of municipal legislative sessions today with criticisms of the health and education systems in the province and of Governor Daniel Scioli.

At the beginning of his statements made today, Macri suggested, “Each day more people come into our health and education systems, many from other districts, principally from the province of Buenos Aires that is becoming weaker every day, especially at the hour of providing a response.”

The mayor’s speech also detailed a series of eight basic objectives for this year, with a focus on public works, development of the transportation system, and improving the health and education systems.

In his statements made before the municipal legislature today, Macri also extended an invitation to President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner to attend the upcoming reopening of the subte línea A, a line that Macri’s government renovated after debates over control of the subte system. He emphasised that he and supporters would be waiting for the president at the system’s re-inauguration next week. He added that despite conflicts in the past, “we will assume the role of working for our neighbours.”

Macri also defended the increase in the subte fare, which is to jump from $2.5 to $3.5, stating, “We are not counting on the subsidy of the national government and we have to make an effort between the subte users and the rest of our neighbours, with an increase in rates.”

Macri’s opening speech today was his sixth in front of the city government during his time in office. His opening statements today before the city legislature were paralleled by today’s address to Congress made by President Fernandez at the start of the national body’s regular sessions for this year. Both Macri and President Fernandez make announcement today to start a critical year in which congressional elections will be held and will be definitive for political progression.

The governor of Buenos Aires province, Daniel Scioli, today confirmed that the government will provide tax relief for the farmers most affected by widespread flooding in the area.

Speaking on Mitre radio, Scioli declared that “obviously we are not going to tax those producers whose farms are completely flooded.” He added that the provincial government would examine the region on a “case by case basis” to analyse the extent of the damage and determine the appropriate level of support.

After heavy rains at the start of September and throughout much of August, 17 departments in the largely rural province have declared a state of emergency due to flooding that has affected an estimated 3.5 million hectares of farmland. According to Scioli, the rainfall in the first eight months of 2012 has already doubled that registered throughout the whole of 2011.

In May, Scioli signed a decree to begin a process of revaluing rural land in the province, paving the way for the provincial legislature to pass a tax reform bill that increased the levy on property for many in the rural sector.

The measure drew strong criticism from the sector, but producers affected by the recent floods will be exempt from some of these payments.

Buenos Aires province governor Daniel Scioli announced today that he will pay salaries and bonuses in two instalments, just days after confirming the payment would be rolled out in four payments. Scioli confirmed that the annual half bonus due for payment in July will be completed on 15^th August.

Scioli’s statement follows a meeting this morning between himself, Buenos Aires infrastructure minister Alejandro Arlía and the head of the provincial labour ministry, Oscar Cuartanga in La Plata. Scioli also met with the the Civil Workers union (UPCN), whose workers will receive the payments .

The union responded this morning by announcing on their website “governor Daniel Scioli has announced that the Buenos Aires state will pay provincial state workers the total of their remaining salary and bonus before the 15^th August.”

Last Friday, the government paid 25% of all state workers’ bonuses. The remaining 75% will be paid by the new August deadline.

Scioli had claimed in June that he would not have enough money to cover the payment of salaries and bonuses in the province. Despite being given $1bn by the national government, he claimed he needed a further $1.8bn to make payments on time.

Argentine workers receive an annual bonus, split into two installments across the year. The first of this year was due in June. The national government’s refusal to give more money to the province prompted Scioli to announce the payment of both salaries and bonuses across four segments, with the first paid on the 14^th July.

The announcement last week was followed by a 48 hour strike and teachers threatened not to begin classes until after the winter break. Pressure also mounted on Scioli following a demand from judge Luis Arias to pay the salary payments in one go.

As a second round of strikes unfold in the province, Buenos Aires Vice Governor Gabriel Mariotto has stated that a draft bill proposed by Governor Daniel Scioli is “unnecessary” because the province already has similar legislation in place.

Scioli called for the provincial legislature to consider a bill that would bring provincial legislation in line with the national Emergency Law, Law 25.561. This law, which has been in place for ten years, allows the executive to make certain decisions directly during times of economic crisis. The governor’s Chief of Staff Alberto Pérez sent the proposed bill to the provincial legislature yesterday.

The national Emergency Law was passed in 2002 under former president Eduardo Duhalde, and has been renewed twice since, most recently in 2011. Scioli’s administration had hoped to use the Emergency Law as a pathway out of the financial crisis plaguing the province.

Writing to Pérez, Mariotto stated that the provincial government was already in compliance with Law 25.561, and had been for ten years, since the province passed Law 12.858 in February 2002. This provincial law is renewed along with the national law, which is currently valid through the end of 2013.

Mariotto’s letter was published this morning in Página/12. The relationship between the provincial governor and his vice governor is known to be strained.

In an interview this morning, Governor Scioli responded that the Law 12.858 “could be in force” and called for a report from provincial lawyers to determine whether the present legislation would be sufficient.

The law that Mariotto referenced – provincial Law 12.858 – does not bring the province into full compliance with the national law. Instead, it applies articles 8, 9, and 10 of the Law 25.561. These articles offer three courses of action for the government in times of economic emergency: all public contracts can be converted from dollars to pesos, the executive has the power to renegotiate relevant contracts, and the executive can order companies providing public services to continue with their contractual obligations.

Today is day two of the second round of protests in the province. State workers from a variety of sectors – including teachers, court officials, and public health workers – have organized a series of demonstrations against the decision to pay this period’s bi-annual bonuses in installments.

The Buenos Aires Supreme Court and the Legislature have both refused to recognize Scioli’s order to pay out the bi-annual bonuses in installments. Both bodies have ordered the full payment of their employees’ bi-annual bonuses this coming Monday.

Yesterday, President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner stated that the Province of Buenos Aires is “privileged” amongst the provinces and has received $4 billion pesos from the federal government since 2003. Although she did not mention the Governor Scioli by name, she emphasized the importance of responsible administration of funds and alluded to the provincial leader.

In this morning’s interview with C5N, Scioli simply stated, “we have always recognized the importance of national investment in the province” and confirmed the figures presented by President Fernández.

The governor also said that the provincial government is attempting to pay the bi-annual bonuses ahead of the proposed installment schedule, and that some sectors of government workers will receive their bonuses more quickly than originally stated.

Facing a deficit estimated at AR$10bn, the Buenos Aires provincial government today revealed further austerity measures. Provincial unions also detailed plans this morning for demonstrations tomorrow in response to the delay of bi-annual bonus payments announced last week.

Building off of Buenos Aires provincial governor Daniel Scioli’s announcement last week that bi-annual bonuses expected as part of state workers’ June salary would be split into four installments, Provincial Minister of Infrastructure and Transport Alejandro Arlía and Provincial Minister of the Economy Silvia Batakis today detailed further measures that the provincial government will take. All public works without guaranteed funding will be stalled, and some upper-level government officials will not receive their expected June bonus.

In this morning’s press conference, Arlía and Batakis expressed their discontent with the “little money received” last week from the federal government. The province had requested AR$2.8bn to help cover state workers salaries and bonuses, but last Wednesday the federal government announced that it transfer only AR$1bn to the province.

Arlía commented that he did not think the federal disbursement of less than half of the requested funds was driven by political reasons, but rather by the national government’s own “fiscal situation”. There had been rumors that the lack of funds reflected the deepening rift between President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner and Governor Scioli, a split that has allegedly deepened since the governor announced he intends to run for president in 2015.

Minister of Interior and Transport Florencio Randazzo also confirmed that from the perspective of the federal government there is no “conflict” with Scioli. Randazzo commented that the federal government has fulfilled its legal obligations by sending AR$1bn to the province.

Today, Batakis ruled out the possibility of the provincial government distributing small denomination treasury bonds as a way of covering costs.

Arlía also reiterated that last week’s decision to split the bi-annual bonuses into four installments was necessary to “guarantee salaries in the coming months”.  There are an estimated 550,000 state workers in the province of Buenos Aires, and their mid-year bonuses cost the provincial government approximately AR$2.3bn.

Also this morning, Roberto Baradel, Secretary General of Central de Trabajadores de Argentina (CTA) in the Province of Buenos Aires, detailed plans for tomorrow’s union demonstrations. Strikes had been proposed last week by many state unions after Scioli’s announcement that bonus payments would be spread out from July through October.

Health workers, teachers and court officials will be among those participating.

Workers from the Greater Buenos Aires will meet at the National Congress at 11 am, and will walk from there to the Provincial House at Callao 237. There will also be localised protests throughout the province, with larger demonstrations in the cities of Bahía Blanca, Olavarría, La Plata and Mar de Plata.

Teachers in the province have also announced that they will also continue to strike this coming Friday – as announced in reaction to last week’s announcements – if the entirety of their bonus is not paid before that date.

State workers typically receive two bonuses annually, one in June and one in December; together, these payments total a ’13th month’ salary. The practice, known collectively as the annual “aguinaldo”, began under the government of Juan Domingo Perón.

Baradel noted, “the workers are awaiting the bonus to be able to make a special purchase or to help pay off debts that we have been accumulating in the previous months”.

Although Scioli has confirmed that salaries for government workers would be paid on schedule for the month of June, Baradel commented that the government’s handling of the situation has “generated uncertainty with respect to the payment of salary payments in the future”.

The Provincial Government of Daniel Scioli has agreed to pay state workers’ bonuses in four instalments with the first starting on the 14th July.

The decision come after a meeting between the Labour Minister for the Province of Buenos Aires, Oscar Cuartango and Scioli. The instalments will take place between July and October.

Previously, Scioli claimed that despite being given $1bn by the national government, it would still not be enough to cover the bi-annual bonus that adds half a month’s salary to stateworkers’ June wages. He had originally asked for $2.8bn

Scioli asked the state for “goodwill and understanding” and also said that the provincial government is “grateful for the support and the help of the national Government.”

However, the Secretary General of the ATE Oscar de Isasi warned industrial action would be imminent if the workers were not guaranteed both their full salaries and bonuses.

De Isasi criticized the provinces budget for this year calling it an “adjustment budget.”

Yesterday National Economy Minister Hernan Lorenzino asked for Scioli to take “greater responsibility” in the administration of the finances.

Wages of more than one million public employees is between $5.3-5.5bn pesos a month while bonus payments require an extra $2.3bn.

Vice governor of Buenos Aires province, Gabriel Mariotto confirmed today that salary and bonus payments to public employees would go ahead as planned. Speaking on La Red radio this morning, he broke his silence to set out plans for the “timely payment” of  public salaries but did not confirm the receipt of $2,500 from the federal government. Mariotto responded to an article published yesterday in La Nación claiming the province was in need of urgent assistance from the federal government. He denied there were problems, stating that recent talks with economy minister, Hernan Lorenzino, had been successful and that there would not be issues with payments to the provinces.

The vice governor met with Buenos Aires governor Daniel Scioli last week to discuss the relationship between the nation and the province. Mariotto denied accusations of financial difficulties between the provincial and national governments but today re-affirmed his criticism for Scioli’s 2015 presidential campaign. Mariotto questioned Scioli’s recent meetings with the head of Argentina’s largest labour union, Hugo Moyano, and ex finance minister, Roberto Lavagna. Scioli recently played football with Moyano in a move Mariotto has branded a crucial part of his 2015 election platform.

Mariotto questioned the wisdom of Scioli’s presidential campaign in the current political context.  He re-affirmed his loyalty to incumbent president Cristina Fernández and suggested that Scioli’s actions were unhelpful “in a troubled world and a country in constant tension”. “I would not have met with Moyano” he said.

Scioli is currently in Italy on a personal holiday and is due to return to Buenos Aires in four days’ time.

Buenos Aires governor Daniel Scioli signed a decree today that aims at a revaluation of rural land in the province, paving the way for the provincial legislature to pass a bill increasing taxes paid for land, cars, stamp duty, and others.

The decree and the tax reform bill seek to collect some $2 billion this year, around half of which would be sent to the national government.

After much discussion over the issue between the government and the opposition, the decree was signed by Scioli’s cabinet in full. The opposition parties Unión Cívica Radical and Frente Amplio Progresista had indicated that once the decree was signed, they would make their way to the legislature to vote on the tax reform bill which they had been blocking. The tax reform bill was amended to remove references to land revaluations and sent to the lower house.

Naming the move a “landmark” and an “instance of responsibility and commitment,” Scioli claimed the tax hike will strengthen the equity of the provincial tax system.

However, the move has already been rejected by farmers. Many have already promised strikes and industrial action in the event that it is passed. Various organisations are looking into and evaluating the possibility of using roadblocks.

Petroccini also challenged criticisms about absenteeism rate among teachers, saying, “The main causes for absenteeism are related to post-traumatic stress, caused by the circumstances in which we have to carry out our jobs.”

Like other social services, the budget for education has one of the highest levels of under-execution. The money is assigned in the budget but it is not being spent. According to a report by the City Ombudsman in June 2011, the yearly budget execution for schools’ infrastructure has been consistently under 50% between 2007 and 2010

The main umbrella unions’ association, the CGT, headed by former leader of the camioneros, Hugo Moyano, backs Province of Buenos Aires teachers’ demands. A national teachers strike is scheduled for March 6.