Today in the early hours of the morning, the Union of Tourism, Hotel and Food Service Workers of Argentina (UTHGRA) closed its negotiation with a new victory. The agreement reached includes a real wage recovery for bar, restaurant and one to four star hotel workers.

Sirel spoke with Norberto Latorre, UTHGRA treasurer, who gave us the details of the negotiation and the agreement

-Can you tell us what the scope of this conflict is?

-At management level, the conflict involved the Hotel and Gastronomic Business Federation of the Republic of Argentina (FEHGRA), which gathers 90 percent of that industry’s activity and employs 200,000 workers. It covers bars, restaurants and one to four star hotels. As you will recall, we had already negotiated with five star hotels, achieving a wage increase and the acknowledgment of the categories, which was a prelude to this negotiation and set a precedent for it.

-What exactly is the agreement?

-We obtained increases in levels similar to those in the five-star agreement, that is, increases that range from 18 to 26 percent, according to categories. This is particularly important in three star hotels, which is where most of our union members are employed. And these wage increases are all retroactive to June 1^st. In April 2008, when this raise has been incorporated to the wages, a 30 percent increase will apply automatically, calculated over the amount yielded by the increase secured today. Let me put it more clearly: if I receive a 200 pesos raise today, in April 2008 I will receive an additional 30 percent increase over that amount, that is 60 pesos.

-A new round of negotiations is scheduled for April 2008?

-That’s correct, a negotiation based on the evolution of the cost of living to that date.

-Which means that there is a significant wage recovery…

-Yes, and this recovery is for the entire country, where various levels will be applied according to the region. First we agreed on a general base, and then we signed specific agreements with the provinces of Calafate and Tierra del Fuego and the Federal Capital. In the Federal Capital workers will receive 16 percent more than in the rest of the country, as we took into consideration that resources vary from region to region, some areas receive more tourists than others, and there are different kind of tourisms, some much more profitable than others.

-What actions were planned in the event an agreement wasn’t reached?

-We had organized several mobilizations and “escraches” (public exposure protests) against hotels and restaurants for today, and we had prepared ourselves for a full national strike for tomorrow, Friday the 20^th, when Argentina celebrates “Friendship Day”, a date that has become very traditional and fills up restaurants nationwide throughout the day. This had a huge impact in the media and had everyone anxious to see what would happen.

-What role did the Ministry of Labor play in this case?

-We had asked that the Business Chamber be summoned to negotiate, and I think the role played by the Vice Minister of Labor, Noemí Rial, was instrumental, as she attended the negotiation accompanied by the leading officials in her area and urged us to reach an agreement, to the extent that, at one point, the following comment was heard: “Nobody leaves here until an agreement is reached.” There was the possibility that the Ministry would impose a “Mandatory Conciliation,” which would prevent us from taking any actions. For our part, we made it clear that we would not be willing to obey that order if it was applied before the strike planned for Friday the 20^th. Finally, today at 3 am we reached the agreement, which while not meeting all our demands, we think comes pretty close to what we wanted, and the raises obtained not only cover inflation, but also bring wages back to levels that had been lost.