Tensions are growing in municipalities in the interior of Buenos Aires due to salary cuts and threatened Christmas bonuses.
In the province of Buenos Aires, a string of cases of municipalities cutting their state employees' salaries are generating uncertainty about how to handle the Christmas bonus payment. These cases are concentrated, at least in the most serious cases, in the south of Buenos Aires province, the sixth electoral district, where districts such as Saavedra, Coronel Suárez, and Guaminí have implemented salary cuts and freezes while requesting financial assistance to cover their annual bonus.
The most extreme case occurred in Saavedra, the district whose capital is the city of Pigüé, where Mayor Matías Nebot (a local resident of Radical origin) proposed a 13% cut in municipal salaries that he was unable to implement. He then appealed to reducing working hours and is now seeking provincial and national support to pay bonuses.
“The 13% cut was a voluntary contribution in two installments, 6.5% each. Initially, the municipal union assembly accepted it, but then rejected it, leaving me with no choice but to reduce the workload, saving me $220 million per month. We managed to pay the salaries, and the employees will have them in their coffers,” Nebot said in an interview with LA NACION .
"For the payment of bonuses, we are going to request a $500 million ATP [Provincial Treasury Contribution]. I also have some contact with the national Ministry of Economy. If I don't find help, the payment of the bonus will be complicated," admitted the mayor of Saavedra, who has previously requested assistance from the Buenos Aires Ministry of Economy, headed by Pablo López , and from Banco Provincia (he claimed to have a good relationship with Sergio Massa and Sebastián Galmarini , one of the bank's directors).
Nebot argued that the municipality's poor financial situation stems from a drop in resources and a deficit inherited from the previous administration. He noted that "the payroll is $1.8 billion," but that it receives "$1.35 billion in revenue sharing." As of last month, the district had received "$700 million less in revenue sharing," according to the mayor. "The deficit began in 2019," he asserted, adding that the municipality has "debts with suppliers."
The municipal union has already launched strikes. “The assembly voted against the 13% salary reduction. But on May 14, they notified us of the decision to reduce our working hours, from 48 to 42 hours, and from 42 to 35 hours. With this reduction in working hours, they are taking 16.6% of our salaries,” Yanina Cerdeira , Finance Secretary of the Saavedra Municipal Workers Union, told LA NACION . The union leader reported that the municipality has 530 permanent employees and that the average salary is $900,000, although she clarified that this amount is “based on 42 hours of working hours, but with the current 35, it's down 17%.”
"They're overdrafting to pay salaries," Cerdeira complained, maintaining that "the situation is serious due to the last two administrations: that of Gustavo Notarigo and that of this mayor." He asserted that, during the strikes, they are "guaranteeing essential services," and questioned Nebot: "He reported us saying there's garbage in the town. He's collecting it with cooperative members in municipal vehicles." Approximately 80% of the municipal budget is allocated to salaries.
In Coronel Suárez, Mayor Ricardo Moccero (Union for the Homeland, aligned with Axel Kicillof ) hasn't ruled out paying the Christmas bonus in two installments. "Paying the Christmas bonus in installments is one possibility; the other is to request an advance on revenue sharing from the Province," Moccero told La Nacion, who is hoping for good results with a moratorium he's initiated.
“It's complicated. We've opened a moratorium. We have to pay $740 million in bonuses. La Cámpora, La Libertad Avanza, and Cambiemos didn't approve the rate increase or the budget in the City Council. The reduction in national revenue sharing to the Province caused the Province to adjust the CUD [Unique Distribution Coefficient], and we have $1 billion less in revenue sharing,” explained Moccero, who also appealed for reduced hours for employees. “We've reduced hours from 40 to 32 and a half hours, and granted $100,000 per month in salary, which benefits those who earn less,” he summarized.
With 70% of the budget allocated to paying salaries and 1,400 municipal employees, the mayor of Coronel Suárez admitted: "If you don't have tax collection and revenue sharing decreases, it becomes difficult to pay bonuses."
The municipal union has implemented measures such as withdrawing its collaboration in the health sector and is on alert and mobilized, but is uncertain whether Moccero will have to pay bonuses in installments. "He didn't tell us that, but it's a narrative he's accustomed us to. This year, we didn't receive a raise to the base salary, which is $427,000 for a new employee. At the last meeting, he didn't raise any issues with the bonus, but he did raise issues with the base salary increase," said María José Lacoste , assistant secretary of the Coronel Suárez Municipal Workers Union and councilwoman for Unión por la Patria. "There will be a meeting on Wednesday where the Executive Branch will bring a salary adjustment proposal," Lacoste said.
Requests for assistance from mayors are beginning to pile up in the offices of the Kicillof administration. “There are many municipalities with problems because their own revenues have fallen due to the economic crisis, revenue sharing, etc. Many in the interior are in trouble, asking for assistance, and we are looking at how to help them,” Carlos Bianco, Minister of Government of the Buenos Aires Province, told LA NACION .
In Guaminí, Mayor José Augusto Nobre Ferreira , another Kicillof ally, froze salaries, although for the moment the measure has not caused conflict with the local municipal union. “It's a salary freeze for senior staff. We had a 12.5% raise this year, above inflation. We've been paid on the first day of the month, and we were supposed to receive our Christmas bonus around the 20th. We're a couple of months behind on overtime, but they're going to be ready,” Luis Haedo , general secretary of the local municipal union, told this newspaper. There are 900 municipal employees in Guaminí.
Another source of concern in southern Buenos Aires province has arisen in Coronel Rosales, a district with Punta Alta as its main city. "Salary is not a factor for us today, but we are looking to the future with great concern, and the mid-year bonus payment date is very close," warned Mayor Rodrigo Aristimuño (Unión por la Patria, aligned with the governor) in statements reported by the Bahía Blanca newspaper La Nueva.
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