Argentines Mobilize, Strike Against Macri's Layoffs

The secretary-general of the Argentine State Workers’ Association, or ATE, Hugo Godoy, confirmed on Tuesday that next week they will hold a strike to protest more than 1,100 dismissals ordered by the government of Mauricio Macri in recent days.

RELATED:
Argentina: Radio Workers to March After Nearly 400 Laid off Abruptly

"We will march to the 'Ministry of Dismissals,' misnamed Ministry of Modernization", Godoy explained to reporters while blasting the "emboldenment and authoritarianism" of the government of Mauricio Macri.

The main mobilization will begin next Thursday at 11 a.m. and will see workers march from the Obelisk of Buenos Aires to the Ministry of Modernization.

For Godoy, national officials under Macri have long acted in a harassing manner while threatening to lay off workers in the public sector.

"Factories were militarized to prevent workers from entering their jobs," he stressed, noting that the increased costs of public services, transportation and electricity were creating hardships for the workers in the South American country.