On 27 April an agreement was signed in the industrial sector to maintain workers' salaries, in spite of the ongoing economic paralysis. The agreement is the result of discussions between the UIA employers’ body (Argentine Industrial Union), the CGT trade union (General Confederation of Labour) and the government. According to the agreement, staff who due to Covid-19 conditions are not working will receive 75% of their regular net salary. This compensation is supplemented by a government measure that establishes a 50% salary payment via the Work and Production Assistance (ATP) program that was specifically formulated to deal with the pandemic, emphasized the Ministry of Labour (c.f. article No. 11864). More concretely, the State will pay 50% of the total salary and the remaining 25% will be born by employer. Following on from this agreement the metallurgy sector has agreed on a more advantageous text. The commerce sector’s social partners have also signed (on 28 April) a sector framework agreement.
This text aims to avoid a mushrooming of agreements within industry by setting a normative framework. Sectoral agreements adopting the 75% percentage will benefit from Ministry of Labour rubber stamping. In contrast, sectoral agreements establishing a lower percentage will be subject to lengthy discussions and an intricate approvals protocol within the Ministry. This agreement does not preclude companies from granting compensatory salaries greater than 75%, when they are in a position to do so.
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