Subway Workers Win Wage Increase : Argentina Indymedia (( i ))

Hundreds of thousands of citizens use the Metrovias subway in Buenos Aires each day. So when all the subway workers went on strike this week, it created quite a stir. Since November 2004, the workers have been demanding pay increases of 53% and better working conditions. After months of waiting for the company executives to meet their demands, the workers decided to go on strike...and they won.

From the 5-10th of February, the workers blocked all subway stops throughout the city. Many were on guard for 24 hour shifts at time, others had their whole families with them and slept on the concrete floor. There were some fights between Metrovias workers and angry citizens who didn’t support the strike. In some cases enraged commuters broke the glass cases surrounding ticket counters.

Like many Argentine citizens, Metrovias workers struggle to survive on a meager salary. Meanwhile, the companys vice-president, Alberto Verra receives 86 times the annual income of most the workers. “I make about 300 pesos per month,” one Metrovias worker on strike explained. “That’s about 100 US dollars. It’s simply not enough for my family and I to survive on!”

Metrovias, which is a US owned company, receives approximately $2,500 USD per hour for the maintenance of the subway. In spite of this, the company has not performed general maintenance since 2001 and employees complain of unhealthy working conditions, horrible air quality and faulty equipment. Though the price of tickets has risen over the years, the salaries and the maintenance have basically remained the same.

As a result of the lack of subway service, the buses were abnormally packed throughout the week and bus lines remained on the sidewalks long into the evening. As many Buenos Aires residents were quick to point out, the subway strike was a huge inconvenience. “Thousands of working people are being forced to arrive late to their jobs, and so they lose money. This loss can be huge for people who depend on every cent to survive,” one kiosk worker in the city’s center explained.

In a poll conducted by Clarin, a major newspaper in Buenos Aires, 67.6% of 26,434 people polled said they were against the subway workers strike and thought it was excessive. 32.4% of those polled supported it.

However, the Metrovias strike could be the first step in a longer fight for worker’s rights in the country. A conference among the city’s major unions recently took place in Hotel Bauen, a worker-run cooperative that was occupied by previous employees after its closure in 2002. At the front of the conference hall, a sign read “Si Gana el Subte, Ganamos Todos.” (If the subway workers win, we all win.) There was fervor in the air at the meeting, and a feeling that with the country’s eyes on the Metrovias workers, it was a time to make the most of the strike’s clout. Representatives from student groups to telephone worker unions were in attendance. Many proposed a city-wide strike demanding higher wages in general, others suggested more street protests and road blockades.

The end of the conflict came on February 10th when the Metrovias workers accepted an offer from the company for a pay increase of 44%. Improvements on the working conditions of the subway are still being discussed. Yet for many of the workers on strike, the wage increase was a victory and could serve as an inspirational example to other workers in the city.