Dissident CGT head Hugo Moyano has thanked workers for joining today’s strike, which he insisted on describing as a “total success”, and warned the government “further measures” will be taken if their claims are not listened.
“I demand the government to start giving answers to our claims. Inflation has sky-rocketed. The workers salary is no longer good enough,” the union leader said during a press conference held at CGT’s headquarters in Buenos Aires city, together with White and Blue CGT leader Luis Barrionuevo and Rural Workers’ union leader “Momo” Venegas.
“If they don’t listen to our claims, we will be forced to take further measures,” Moyano added in the second press conference evaluating today’s walkout, the third national strike against President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner’s administration.
Barrionuevo agreed with Moyano and claimed the next demonstration will “take the streets”, saying workers will gather in front of the Government’s House in Plaza de Mayo.
“Today we stayed inside, we stayed in our homes. The next time, if things don’t get better, the workers will have to take the streets. And we won’t gather here, we’ll go to Plaza de Mayo,” he said.
Moyano said the strike was a response to a government that “denies reality” and “has lost touch with the people.”
“They deny the success of the strike. But we all could see in our television screens that streets were empty, that buses were empty. They are no longer believable. People wanted to strike and we have successfully represented the peoples will,” the union leader said.
The head of the dissident CGT refused to present statistics with the amount of workers that joined the strike, after Labor Minister Carlos Tomada and Cabinet Chief Jorge Capitanich questioned the success of the measure.
“It’s not worth it. They are not trustworthy [the government officials]. Everyone saw the strike’s success,” he said.
Source: Buenos Aires Herald