UOM members are clashing with the police forces at the Labour Ministry's front which is being stoned by the steel workers.

The Argentine Steel Workers Union (UOM) is on a nationwide strike today and staging a protest in Buenos Aires City after steel manufacturers declined to grant the sector a 22 percent pay rise requested by the union.

UOM workers gathered at 1pm in front of the Central Post building in downtown Buenos Aires, and marched down Colón Avenue to the central offices of the Labour Ministry, to press the Kirchner administration to intercede to defend the workers.

Talking on a local radio, the leader of UOM, Antonio Caló, blasted steel companies and said he was "didn't understand why they keep refusing to grant a pay hike to their employees."

"We're requesting a minimum wage of 1,850 pesos," he noted, claiming he was "worried" about their situation.

The decision to go on strike was announced last week, after months of failed salary negotiations at the Labour Ministry. The main firms have refused to grant their employees given plummeting orders as a result of the international economic crisis.