Police rebellion in Argentina: demands salary increase and better working conditions

Video Credit: Newsflare
Published on September 9, 2020 - Duration: 03:23s

Police rebellion in Argentina: demands salary increase and better working conditions

Hundreds of police officers from the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, continued protesting this Wednesday for wage claims. The protests began Monday in several districts.

The lack of precision on the wage increase promised by the Peronist government of Axel Kicillof did not calm the spirits.

Despite a surge of Covid-19 infections in Argentina in recent weeks, police officers took to the streets with their families, with most rallying outside Governor Axel Kicillof’s official residence in La Plata, the provincial capital.

Other protests took place in cities across Buenos Aires Province, the nation’s most populous region.

Following on from the demo, additional rallies supporting the call took place in other locations on Tuesday, such as Lomas de Zamora, Florencio Varela, Merlo, Berazategui, Quilmes, and Almirante Brown.

A large group also gathered in front of a strategic command center in La Matanza, at the intersection of the Riccheri highway and Camino de Cintura (Bridge 12), where hours earlier provincial government officials had held a press conference.

Most demonstrators are calling for urgent improvements to be made to their salaries, though complaints about the lack of suitable personal protective equipment (PPE) for working police officers are also dominant.

Many of those demonstrating also complained of a “growing disparity" between the salaries of provincial police offices and those who work in Buenos Aires City.

According to the protesters, some officers receive salaries of just 34,000 pesos (about US$430) a month, a figure that has been eaten into strongly by soaring inflation.

On Tuesday, Adriana Rearte, the general secretary of the Federation of Police and Penitentiary Unions (FASIPP), published a video on social networks saying that officers needed “psychological support” as well as financial assistance.

“Listen to your people, read the petition, do not tighten the rope anymore,” she warned, before going on to reference famed police revolts that affected 21 of the country's 23 provinces.

“We must not forget what happened in 2013, everything got out of hand.”


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