CGT: 'Gov't leaving us no choice' but to approach Moyano

The head of the power workers’ union Oscar Lescano, who represents the official CGT umbrella union, assured that his organization and the dissident CGT, led by Hugo Moyano “are getting closer to each other”, assuring that the Government “is leaving us no choice” as they keep making decisions “without asking for their opinion.”

“The Government is leaving us no choice,” he stated, adding that “he has no doubt that both CGT organizations will come together in the coming months.”

“Moyano has already been there for two years and his leadership style is not what we’re looking for. By this I don’t mean we don’t want to come together, on the contrary, I think that is close to happening. Willingly or unwillingly, the Government is forcing us to come together,” he explained.

Lescano targeted the Fernández de Kirchner administration for its decision to raise the income tax floor on a 20 percent, a move that he considered was “insufficient”.

“It’s not a great announcement; on the contrary, it affects all of us. The two million people already paying income tax are not benefitted by this. And that’s because if the raise became effective in January, some people would see a benefit but this is not the case,” he stated.

Lescano explained that “since the raise becomes effective in March and wage talks are finalized in March, April and May, those who get a 20 percent raise will once again lose the benefit that they saw in March. This means that between March and May, the situation for those paying income tax doesn’t change.