Striking teachers, students on war footing against Milei's austerity

Teachers' unions staged a one-day strike on Thursday backed by students who occupied faculties at public universities in response to the striking down of a law improving funding for higher education institutes.

At least 24 faculties at state universities nationwide were taken over by students as teachers and non-teaching staff walked off the job. 

The action came in response to the upholding of President Javier Milei’s veto of a law granting improved funding to state institutions and better wages for staff.

On Wednesday night, in a vote that angered the educational community, lawmakers in Congress voted to uphold the La Libertad Avanza leader’s veto.

Most of the country's state universities were affected by the 24-hour strike, which was joined by unions representing non-teaching staff. 

“The UBA is in mourning,” the staff association of the National University of Buenos Aires (APUBA) said in a statement.

Demands for salary increases are at the centre of the conflict, with both unionised teaching and non-teaching staff seeking improved pay amid inflation running at 200 percent per annum.

The strike has the support of students who have taken over scores of university campuses. Assemblies are being held to discuss a plan of action to resist the defunding of the sector by Milei, who has slashed public spending since taking office last December.

The presidential veto was ratified by Congress, which had voted on September 13 to approve a law increasing funding to universities.

The government vetoed it on the grounds that it undermines fiscal balance, the cornerstone of its policy and managed to secure enough backers to prevent it being overturned.

However, a report from the Congressional Budget Office published earlier this year estimated its impact at 0.14 percent of GDP.

“We all want a balanced economy and we know that resources are scarce. But priorities have to be set. Nobody in a family economy would stop sending their children to school, the same goes for a country,” said Franco Bartolacci, the chancellor of the Universidad Nacional de Rosario, in an interview with Rosario outlet Channel 3 on Thursday.

“If resources are scarce, we have to prioritise with the minimum necessary for the university to function well. And the minimum necessary is a decent salary for teaching and non-teaching staff. Today 70 percent of them are earning salaries below the poverty line,” he explained.

According to the Budget bill sent to Congress by the Milei administration, the executive will allocate only half of the funds that the university authorities estimate are necessary to sustain the functioning of the faculties in 2025.

Around 80 percent of Argentina's university students study in the public system, which has produced five Nobel laureates during its history.

“It is very unfair what is being done to the national university and scientific system. It is a systematic smear campaign to justify the defunding,” complained Bartolacci. “What is the government's plan for higher education other than cutting resources?”

Presidential Spokesperson Manuel Adorni criticised the occupations and strike action.

“It is a crime to take over a university as it is to take over any building,” he said at a press conference on Thursday.

Adorni said the courts would investigate whether potential evictions of the building would take place.

He reiterated that, against union wishes, the government would grant a 6.8 percent wage increase to teaching and non-teaching staff in October. 

“In other words, they preferred to reject the increase and enable the takeover, rather than accept the increase and continue working to improve the situation,” he argued.

– TIMES/AFP/NA