The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF), as the global voice for 16.5 million transport workers around the world, is outraged by Argentine President Javier Milei’s politically motivated attack on workers’ fundamental right to withdraw their labour.
On 8 September, the Milei Government announced their intention to declare aviation an “essential service” and impose minimum service levels.
ITF General Secretary Stephen Cotton labelled the move as an "authoritarian and illegal restriction" on the right to strike in a letter delivered to the Argentine Minister of Human Capital, Lic Sandra Viviana Pettovello, on 12 September.
“This regressive and dangerous policy is not just an attack on workers but an attack on democracy itself. Argentina risks violating the international legal standards it has pledged to uphold,” warned Cotton.
The Milei Government’s move comes in the wake of strikes organised by ITF-affiliated aviation unions last week in an effort to improve the pay and working conditions of their members. Rather than engaging constructively with unions, Cotton notes that the government’s approach “prioritises the interests of corporate elites over the voices of working people.”
“Rather than constructively engaging with unions, the Milei Government is proposing regressive legislation that places it in violation of international law,” said Cotton. “We are urging the government to refrain from this authoritarian and illegal restriction on aviation workers’ right to strike.”
The right to strike is enshrined in International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention 87, ratified by Argentina in 1960, which protects workers' freedom of association and the right to organise. “Declaring aviation an essential service, with the purpose of limiting workers' ability to strike, flies in the face of ILO principles," Cotton stated. “The ILO has repeatedly clarified that transport services do not constitute essential services in the strict legal sense.”
Under Argentine law, only an independent commission of experts can declare a public service to be essential, with both parties given the opportunity to determine minimum service levels. “Government officials do not have the legal authority to define essential services or dictate service levels,” emphasised Cotton. He condemned the government’s bypassing of this due process, stressing that these actions are “in clear contravention of the rule of law and Argentina's international commitments.”
The ITF calls on the Milei Government to immediately cease its attempts to restrict the right to strike and engage in meaningful dialogue with unions, respecting both international standards and the laws of Argentina.
“We extend our solidarity to all of our aviation affiliates in Argentina who are resisting the attack on their right to strike,” said Cotton. “Unions are defenders of our democratic rights and institutions. When governments attack labour rights, they are attacking democracy itself. You have the full backing of our global labour movement in holding the Milei Government to its obligations under international law.”
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Media contact: media@itf.org.uk
About the ITF: The International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF) is a democratic, affiliate-led federation recognised as the world’s leading transport authority. We fight passionately to improve working lives; connecting trade unions from over 150 countries to secure rights, equality and justice for their members. We are the voice for nearly 16.5 million working women and men in the transport industry across the world.
Photo credit: Luciana Flesler
