You heard it on No Te Duermas
This was stated by Sebastián Bravo, worker at La Casa de la Moneda and delegate of the Association of State Workers (ATE), in reference to the emptying of the sector and the vulnerable situation of the workers.
By Soledad Martínez
martinezgsoledad@gmail.com
La Casa de la Moneda, a historic institution and symbol of Argentine economic sovereignty, is going through one of the deepest crises in its history. In dialogue with No Te Duermas Sergio Bravo, delegate of the Association of State Workers (ATE) and employee of the entity, described the difficult situation faced by more than 1,300 workers, marked by the intervention, the lack of tenders and working conditions.
Since November, the Casa de la Moneda has been intervened for a period of 180 days, during which operations have been restricted. According to Bravo, although a definitive closure has not been decreed, tenders for the production of passports, ID cards and banknotes have not yet resumed.
The few activities in progress include the production of patented plates, cigarette stamps and passport remnants. However, these tasks only guarantee employment until March 2024, increasing uncertainty.
For Bravo, the situation at the Mint reflects a worrying process of labour flexibility in the public sector. Employees claim that basic rights such as job stability, punctual payment of full salaries and the possibility of deciding when to take vacations are being violated.
According to the worker, the implementation of such things as the payment of salaries in installments and the obligation to accept early or pending vacations is generating economic suffocation among workers.
These conditions lead employees to accept voluntary arrangements for fear of being left “with nothing” in the event of a possible declaration of bankruptcy. A mechanism that results in covert dismissals. “Instead of advancing rights, we are advancing in flexibility,” said Bravo.
In addition, employees have seen their qualified functions degraded, since workers with years of experience in specialized tasks are now forced to perform tasks that do not correspond to their skills.
“We are also going backwards in our functions, for example, any fellow machinist here who had experience is now opening doors, without underestimating what it means to open a door, but we are losing our qualified function by taking whatever is necessary to protect the source of work,” said the union member.
The Mint is a key institution in the production of bills and official documents, but the government seems determined to hand over monetary sovereignty to the private sector, according to Bravo.
Concern about the fate of the employees of the entity grows day by day. “There are people who have more than 25 years of career here and if they end up on the street, they will practically not get another job, because the qualification or what they know how to do in their trade will not be able to be done elsewhere.”
Rejection of suitability tests
In the state sector, thousands of workers will be required to take suitability tests to keep their jobs. This measure has generated strong rejection among unions and public employee organizations, who consider this requirement to be discriminatory and unconstitutional.
“We do not take this test because we belong to 214, a collective agreement. But in the next few weeks it will be applied to 40,000 state employees who also do not have stability, because they are contracted. We always talk about the main slave driver being the State, because every three months they have to renew their contract, even people who have more than 25 years of experience,” explained the ATE delegate.
The opposition to the suitability requests has become a central axis of the mobilizations of state workers. According to Bravo, ATE, together with the CTA and other unions, plans to hold a “noise protest” next week to make their rejection visible. Likewise, a precautionary measure has already been presented to the courts to stop the implementation of these tests, arguing that they are “totally unconstitutional” and constitute “a covert dismissal.”
“We will surely continue to transmit it. We will exhaust all the instances we have to not naturalize this, because stability is not guaranteed to employees. It is totally reprehensible that in situations of homelessness and precariousness they are required to take an exam to continue working,” he denounced.
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