Workers Strike at Cargill’s Argentine Oilseed Crushing Plants
Workers at three of Cargill’s oilseed crushing plants in Argentina are continuing with unplanned strikes.
The plants in question include Villa Governador Galvez and Punta Alvear near Rosario, and Bahia Blanca in Buenos Aires province, according to Sergio Diaz, representative of the SOEAR oilseed crushers union.
The strikes are reported to draw attention to the workers’ demands that Cargill re-employ a group of employees that had been let go as part of a business restructuring strategy.
After shuttering the plants for four days, Cargill resumed operations at the three sites on April 9. Since that time, workers have been halting work that affects grain loading, biodiesel production, and oilseed production, according to Diaz.
As four vessels await loading of corn and soybeans from Cargill’s port in Bahia Blanca, and six more vessels will be awaiting loading at Cargill’s Punta Alvear and Villa Governardor ports in the coming days, the company had previously stated that the strikes will result in the plants being shut down as the company cannot guarantee safe working conditions.
If negotiations fail, the workers have threatened to escalate actions that could affect oilseed production on a national level.
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