June 1, 2012

Argentina commands oilseed workers to discontinue strike

Oilseed-crushing workers in San Lorenzo have been ordered by Argentinean government to call off a wage strike and discuss with companies, an industry source said.

The Labor Ministry issued the order late Tuesday (May 29), hours after the workers said they would go on strike Wednesday (May 30), Guillermo Wade, manager of the Chamber of Port and Maritime Activities, said in an email.

The workers are seeking higher wages in the face of an expected acceleration in inflation, which has been running in the double digits since 2007 and is now at 25%, according to private estimates.

The Union of Oilseed -Crushing Workers of Rosario will hold a meeting Wednesday to discuss the government's order, according to Argentine press reports. The union represents workers in Rosario and San Lorenzo, a neighbouring city in the central farming province of Santa Fe.

The union was planning a 24-hour strike starting Wednesday, with the option to continue until demands were met. This would have hit production at soy crushing plants run by Bunge, Cargill, Glencore and Louis Dreyfus.

Argentina uses soyoil to make about three million tonnes/year of biodiesel, of which 800,000 tonnes/year are consumed in the country for a 7% blend in diesel and the rest exported mostly to Europe.