RIGHT-WING Argentina president President Javier Milei’s spokesman said on Thursday that his government has reduced the workforce at state-owned airline Aerolineas Argentinas by 13 per cent over the last six months.
A total of 1,500 fewer workers are now on the payroll, said Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni at his daily press conference.
He praised the state carrier’s new boss, Fabián Lombardo, for trimming staffing levels, which have taken place amid a persistent conflict with aeronautical unions over wage increases.
Adorni said: ‘Aerolíneas Argentinas has announced that it has managed to downsize its employees by 1,500, which means a cutback of 13 per cent of its staff.
President Milei’s chief spokesperson, who did not mention the ongoing conflict with unions, said the flagship state airline had reduced its working deficit by 70 per cent.
‘This winter, it was the first in the last seven seasons to generate genuine income,’ said Adorni, who thanked Lombardo and his executive team for ‘putting the company in order’.
Aviation unions are at odds with the Milei administration and the airline’s top brass over ‘unacceptable’ wage proposals and have launched strike action in demand of better pay.
On Tuesday, the Argentine Federal Police, a force under the command of Security Minister Patricia Bullrich, attacked judicial workers with batons and pepper spray during a peaceful protest demanding salary adjustments.
The repressive action resulted in one person being detained and 15 workers sustaining eye injuries due to the pepper spray, including Julio Piumato, the Secretary of the Union of Judicial Employees of the Nation (UEJN).
The officers attacked the workers as they were concluding their protest on the fourth floor of the Palace of Justice and were leaving the premises.
For months, workers have been gathering every Tuesday at the Palace of Justice to protest against the implementation of the Income Tax and to demand the restoration of their purchasing power.
Piumento said: ‘This is Argentine democracy speaking out against democracy in Venezuela.
‘The police use tear gas, beatings, and arrogance against judicial workers who demand salary increases and denounce the massive wave of layoffs.
‘It was a provocation and an unjustified repression. We will not accept it and will fight against the government when it happens.’
UEJN Deputy Secretary Maia Volcovinsky stressed that their style of protest is peaceful.
She explained that federal police officers operate within the Palace of Justice, but they report to the Court.
However, she warned that infantry guards had been deployed there for several weeks, and it was these guards who violently attacked the protesters.
The General Confederation of Labour (CGT) said: ‘While Bullrich’s police are busy repressing workers and retirees, the real criminals walk the streets freely.
‘The Milei government have once again showed that it will stop at nothing.’
‘It is a failure of a government and will lead to debt in the country going up and inflation going up.
‘The cuts and privatisation that it is being brought in will not improve the conditions for workers. We will carry on our fight until the government is replaced.’
On Wednesday, Argentine workers held another protest in front of the headquarters of the Judicial Council.
- Iran on Thursday condemned the United States’ seizure of a plane belonging to Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro over alleged sanctions violations, saying the ‘unacceptable’ move contradicts the international law.
The US Justice Department said on Monday that the country has seized a plane used by the Venezuelan president and flown it from the Dominican Republic to Florida. It claimed that the plane, identified as a Dassault Falcon 900EX, has been purchased in violation of US sanctions.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan’ani said on Thursday that the unilateral coercive move by the US is in violation of international law and will foment chaos and promote hijacking.
The US move also poses a threat to international aviation security and safety, he added.
He reiterated the need to respect international regulations, saying Iran regards the recent US ‘unacceptable’ move as a contravention of rules and norms of international law, particularly the immunity of the countries’ properties and the Convention on International Civil Aviation (also known as Chicago Convention).
The Iranian spokesman voiced Tehran’s support for Venezuelan government’s measures to protect its public property.
Kan’ani also stressed the importance of improving cooperation among countries to confront the US sanctions and unilateral coercive measures.
Maduro, a former bus driver who became president following the death of his mentor and leader of the Venezuelan revolution Hugo Chavez in 2013, was re-elected in 2018 despite US-orchestrated opposition.
Since November 2019, the US-led sanctions have pushed inflation in Venezuela to above 4,000 per cent.
Iran and Venezuela, both subject to illegal US sanctions, signed a 20-year cooperation deal in June 2022 during a state visit by Maduro to Tehran. The document covered the energy sector, among other areas of cooperation.
On Tuesday, Venezuelan Transport Minister Ramon Velasquez denounced an act of sabotage at the Libertador Simon Bolivar station of the Ezequiel Zamora I Railway System, located in La Rinconada, where a fire broke out that was controlled by the Caracas Fire Department.
Velasquez said: ‘A fire was reported at the power plant. We have no doubt that it was an act of sabotage because we have performed maintenance on all the circuits, plants, and railway infrastructure.
‘We do not doubt that this is an act of sabotage.
‘The Transport Ministry condemns actions that aim to disrupt the peace of the population,’ Velasquez added.
Velasquez also mentioned that the sabotage had an impact on the trains operating from La Rinconada to Valles del Tuy.
However, the service is currently running normally.
‘We controlled this fire in record time, which affected the peace of the users of this multimodal transport.
‘This is not the way to engage in politics.’
Velasquez also said that that the government is investigating to identify those responsible for the sabotage.
He added: ‘These are mechanisms that disrupt the peace of a nation.’
Despite the situation causing concern, the underground transport system operated normally from La Rinconada station to Valles del Tuy and vice versa.
The location will be without electrical service while repairs are carried out on Sunday when the service is quietest.
Railway operators will also look to increase security measures in effort to stop sabotage and other disruption in the future.
