On 4 April 2019 BWI affiliates – UOCRA, FOCRA, and USIMRA – in Argentina joined trade unions in other sectors marched to protest against adjustment policies of Mauricio Macri’s government.
The unified block of workers marched, even in the rain, to National Congress, where they delivered a trade union proposal to changes in laws that address issues of concern to workers such as loss of jobs, the need for decent work, taxes that do not affect wages, more national production, better wages, better social programs that generate integration, better retirement plans, among other measures.
Since President Macri was elected in 2015, it is estimated that 1,752,000 jobs have been lost (9.1 per cent unemployment by 2018), inflation increased to 47.6 per cent in 2018 (the highest in 27 years) and poverty rates have risen alarmingly up to 33.6 per cent throughout the national territory, representing 13.2 million Argentinians in poverty.
