BUENOS AIRES (Reuters) – A strike by oilseed workers in Argentina is likely to enter a seventh day on Monday as wage negotiations with companies stall, affecting supplies for one of the world’s largest grain exporters.
“We are continuing with the strike,” Martin Morales, union secretary for the San Lorenzo Department Oilseed Workers and Employees Union (SOEA), told Reuters on Sunday. “Tomorrow we will re-evaluate (whether to continue).”
Two industrial unions went on strike last Tuesday as workers demanded wages remain above high inflation.
According to Morales, the affected companies have not yet contacted the unions to negotiate.
The strike has primarily affected terminals north of Rosario, along the Parana River, where more than 80% of Argentina’s agricultural and agro-industrial exports of goods are shipped.
At least three dozen ships were still delayed on Sunday in Rosario, one of the world’s main agricultural export centers.
In June, the federal government forced SOEA to suspend a strike by organizing mandatory conciliation talks, which forced the union and the companies back to the negotiating table.
Argentina is a major grain producer and a large exporter of soybean oil and soybean meal.
The country’s economy relies heavily on the currency generated by grain exports as the government tries to replenish the central bank’s scarce reserves.
(Reporting by Walter Bianchi; Writing by Kylie Madry; Editing by Josie Kao)
