Cargill Rosario plants operating at 20%, more strikes to come: Union

Argentine oilseed crushing workers are considering total or partial strikes at Cargill’s soy processing plants in Rosario, Sergio Diaz, representative of the SOEAR oilseed crushers union, told Agricensus on Monday.

The union confirmed it will carry out different protest actions to oppose the dismissal of 33 workers from Cargill’s plants in Villa Gobernador Gálvez and Punta Alvear.

The company had ratified the dismissals once the mandatory conciliation ordered by the national Labour Ministry had expired last week.

Diaz said that Cargill had halted all its operations in Rosario from Thursday to Sunday.

“On Monday, the company resumed operations, but it is producing at a capacity level of only 20%. We will analyse the situation in the coming days and will make the decision on what kind of strike we will implement,” he said.

The union official also said that strike actions could affect Cargill’s overall production or just partial strike actions, which would affect specific production sectors.

Cargill said in a statement it was restructuring its operations in Rosario and Bahia Blanca (Buenos Aires province) and laying off a limited group of workers who would later be replaced by other workers with different professional profiles.

“The aim of this measure is not to eliminate or sub-contract jobs, but rather to ensure the continuity of operations in an effective and efficient matter compatible with the business’s new challenges,” the statement said.

In Argentina, Cargill has over 3,000 employees. The firm has operations in eight provinces across the country.

Diaz also said that additional strike actions could affect other oilseed crushing plants across the country as workers are currently negotiating salaries with the sector’s chambers.

“We foresee a conflict as we are demanding a salary hike of 23% and the companies are offering a 15% salary increase,” he said.

According to the latest available statistics from the Rosario grain chamber BCR, Cargill had exported 3.8 million mt of grains from its Punta Alvear plant, up compared with 3 million mt the previous year.

The firm’s Villa Gobernador Gálvez plant had exported a total of 442,754 mt of grain last year, up compared to 281,469 in 2016.