Argentine workers strike, halting soy crushing factories

The CIARA industry association reported that on Thursday, activity was halted in Argentina's soy-processing plants as the oilseed workers union SOEA began a strike to protest layoffs and the actions of the national security forces.

The strike began late Wednesday night after members of Argentina's Naval Prefecture interfered with a demonstration by biodiesel producer Explora SA, in the Rosario area, a major agribusiness center.

The Federacion Aceitera, a union with a smaller presence in Argentine oilseeds plants, joined the strike at the world's biggest exporter of soy oil and meal.

SOEA as well as Federacion Aceitera had been scheduled to launch a

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On Wednesday, the Argentine Government ordered a mandatory conciliation process between the parties over a wage dispute.

The government of the South American nation can order a mandatory conciliation period, during which the unions are required to suspend their strike and all parties must attempt to reach an agreement.

"Everything has been stopped." "They're not adhering to the mandatory conciliation," CIARA chief Gustavo Idigoras said.

The strike started with a very narrow focus: the reinstatement of a group Explora employees who had been fired. The protest spread to other parts of the country after the naval prefecture intervened. The union alleges that the authorities used violence against its members.

Martin Morales is the union secretary for SOEA. He described the events as being "very serious."

The business chamber CIARA denounced the unions on the social media platform X late Wednesday night for not complying with mandatory conciliation.

Morales from the SOEA stated that they would be willing to meet the chambers of commerce to resolve the dispute.

Morales stated, "We want this conflict to be settled." (Reporting and writing by Maximilian Heath, Gabriel Araujo, Adam Jourdan).

(source: Reuters)