The most powerful businessman in the country, Paolo Rocca, is once again in the eye of the storm. His company Tenaris, part of the Techint Group, is firing workers during the mandatory conciliation ordered by the Ministry of Labor of the province of Buenos Aires. But in the hearings, the employer plays dumb and denies the facts. A true scandal that exposes the darkest side of corporate power.
Two weeks ago, the first 150 layoffs of irregularly hired workers and 15 permanent employees were carried out. The mandatory conciliation, ordered by the ministry headed by Axel Kicillof, ordered the situation to be rolled back to square one. However, Rocca ignores this and continues with his adjustment plan. The internal union commission of the UOM and human rights organizations such as CeProDH have already publicly denounced this non-compliance.
At the hearing on Wednesday, July 8, there was no progress. The employer denies reality, while the internal commission warns of new measures of force if an effective solution is not found. At the last hearing on July 13, the company insisted on transferring the claim to the National Secretariat of Labor, run by Julio Cordero, a former lawyer for the Techint Group. Metalworkers’ families cannot continue to live with this uncertainty. We must stop Rocca and the government!
While Rocca accumulates multi-million dollar figures, his plan is to offload his «stumble» in business with the government onto the backs of workers. It is no coincidence that Rocca was a strong promoter of Javier Milei’s government, contributing more than eight officials in key positions, such as Julio Cordero at the Secretariat of Labor. This support has a clear objective: to advance against workers’ rights. On several occasions, Rocca described Argentine labor as «expensive and unproductive.» A statement that exposes his anti-worker stance.
The government compensated him with the so-called «labor modernization law,» a slave-like counter-reform that goes back 100 years in labor rights. Milei’s current policy caused Rocca to lose some business to foreign monopolies, but as a reward he obtained new profits from Vaca Muerta. Even so, he wants to unleash a brutal layoff plan on the workers who produced the thousands of tons of pipes for the Néstor Kirchner Gas Pipeline. Today, those workers are considered disposable.
The metalworking industry is one of the hardest hit by Milei and Rocca’s policies. They also intervened in the UOM to deepen the dismantling of one of the sectors with the most tradition of struggle and achievements of the labor movement. A true war plan. From the traditional leadership of the labor movement, only evasions were received. The union federations are in a complete truce while declaring a «plan of struggle» for the gallery.
Coordination of all independent and combative sectors is necessary to confront this plan. Internal commissions, delegate bodies, social, student, political, and human rights organizations that truly want to face the adjustment must take up the cause of those laid off from Tenaris Siat and against the Labor Reform as their own cause. If Rocca wins, all workers lose.
The conflict in Lanús challenges other important actors: Governor Axel Kicillof and the mayor of Lanús, both former leaders of Peronism and Kirchnerism. Today, Kicillof is touted as an alternative to Milei, but in practice he does not show it. So far, they have taken no action against this employer that operates according to its own laws. The southern area of Buenos Aires is one of the hardest hit by poverty and unemployment. They cannot allow more families on the streets.
In the southern area of Greater Buenos Aires, it is urgent to set up a coordination table that promotes activities to strengthen the morale of Siat workers. There are already dozens of young people and workers organized in committees alongside Myriam Bregman, carrying out graffiti, leafleting, and photo campaigns. We do not want more families on the streets, we do not want one less right. All with the workers of Tenaris Siat.
kjjjjj para mi roca hace lo q quiere xq es el dueño los zurdos lloran x unos despidos pero si fuera una empresa K los aplaudirían menos laburo y mas plan social asi estamos viva la libertad carajo
para mi rocca se cree el dueño de la vida? mientras se hace el boludo en las audiencias echa a laburantes en lanus sindicato traidor gobierno cipayo ya basta de estos patrones de mierda ni la conciliacion respetan viva la lucha obrera abajo el capitalismo!!