After Cristina's snub for the march, the CGT would join Milei's call

While the short circuits arising from the decision not to accompany the march in support of Cristina Kirchner are still resonating within the entity, the CGT will have to make another decision in these hours that will accentuate its differences with Kirchnerism : the possibility of joining President Javier Milei's call to launch the delayed May Council .

While the decision to participate in the meeting will be decided at a meeting scheduled for this Monday, given that it is an institutional meeting, it is difficult for the labor union to withdraw , according to the interpretation within the union leadership.

Last week, the Libertarian administration decided to revive the so-called May Council , which was formally launched almost a year ago on July 9 in Tucumán at an event led by Milei along with 18 governors. Through a decree , it formally called the first meeting for this Tuesday at 9 a.m. at the Casa Rosada . There, it named the guests representing governors, legislators, and sector leaders.

He summoned the head of the UIA, Martín Rappallini , representing the business sector, and the head of the UOCRA, Gerardo Martínez , representing the union community. The CGT's choice of Martínez was no coincidence: he is the leader within the organization who expresses the most open position to dialogue with the Libertarian government and maintains a well-oiled dialogue with the Chief of Staff, Guillermo Francos, who will preside over the Council on behalf of the Executive Branch, as well as other close collaborators of the president.

"The idea is to hold a meeting of the CGT so that the decision on whether or not to participate can be based on a debate. A majority consensus will provide the opportunity to assume that representation on the council," Martínez told Clarín when asked about union participation in the meeting at the Casa Rosada. However, among the union's frontline, the voices that prevailed were those who believed the invitation to join the dialogue should be accepted.

The head of the UOCRA himself even hinted at a series of key issues that the union leadership intends to bring to the negotiating table with the government. In this regard, he mentioned the demand for pension increases, the imposition of a 1% cap on salary increases negotiated in collective bargaining agreements, the labor market situation and the increase in layoffs, in addition to the demand to move forward with a development model based on production and labor. "We propose that, in line with the fight against inflation and the monetary and financial situation, the government must also consider the importance of production and labor," the leader stated.

Union participation in the May Council, promoted by Milei, is anticipated to be a new front of conflict within the CGT following the heated discussion held last week by some twenty leaders from the organization's top leadership when they decided not to join the march called by Kirchnerism to Plaza de Mayo in support of Cristina Kirchner. During that meeting, the one who set the tone was Hugo Moyano , who—accused Kirchnerism and excluded Néstor Kirchner from his criticism—of "always" being "selfish." "They always relegated Peronism and the union movement," the truck driver boss told his interlocutors.

As a result of that discussion, the CGT gave the unions freedom of action to mobilize, and only organizations linked to Kirchnerism did so .