Moyano, Méndez agree both sectors 'headed towards an agreement'

Leaders from the CGT labour confederation and the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) met and agreed on the need to reestablish a dialogue and address several social issues such as increasing salaries and taming price hikes.

After the meeting, which began minutes after 11am, leaders Héctor Méndez and Hugo Moyano offered a press conference, in which the CGT head announced that both parts were in the process of “evaluating a social accord that contributes to the economy’s growth and allows for revenue sharing.”

“All signs suggest that it will be possible for us to achieve this,” he explained

“Both our sectors seem to be willing to take part of this, although we may also need for the National Government to chip in,” he explained. “This is what we talked about today,” he said.

At the same time, Mr. Méndez explained that “this was the best way for both sectors to move towards a social accord.”

“We believe that each side can sit at the table in order to legitimately defend what we have to defend, but always thinking of our country and our people enjoying better labour conditions.”

“This is the way to go. We kick off negotiations with an organized agenda and then we slowly move on towards an agreement in prices and salaries,” he said.

Earlier, before entering the meeting, UOM metal workers’ leader, Antonio Caló, told reporters that the meeting would help to discuss next year’s prices and salaries.

Union leaders José Luis Lingeri, Andrés Rodríguez, Juan Carlos Schmid and Omar Viviani were also part of the conversations.

Meanwhile, business leaders want to seal an agreement with Moyano on 2011 union wage-hike demands.

The government and business leaders are trying to keep union-wage demands at around 18 percent. But Moyano, who also leads the teamsters’ union, has repeatedly said that next year’s salary discussions that will launch in March will not have “a ceiling or a floor.”

Some are concerned that private forecasts on the 2011 inflation rates -most of which hover around 25 percent- set a minimum for wage demands.