(Adds comment from Soea union and head of CIARA chamber)
By Hugh Bronstein and Jorge Otaola
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 15 (Reuters) - Argentine oilseed workers continued their wage strike on Tuesday after the failure of recent contract negotiations, two unions representing soymeal factory workers and the CIARA chamber of manufacturers said.
The country's key agro-export sector has been bogged down by work stoppages by employees of companies that manufacture soy-based livestock feed used to fatten hogs, poultry and cattle from Europe to Southeast Asia. Argentina is the world's No. 1 supplier of the feed.
"The failure of negotiations convened by the Labor Ministry was due to the unions making wage claims that were even higher than the previous ones," CIARA said in the statement.
The Soea union of oilseed workers said tensions rose during a marathon negotiation session held on Monday with export company representatives and Labor Ministry officials.
"Yesterday's meeting was supposed to be the end of the negotiations. There are no more meetings expected this week," CIARA head Gustavo Idigoras told Reuters by voice message.
The unions say they need wages high enough to keep up with Argentina's double-digit inflation rate.
Both sides accused the other of intransigence.
"The national strike is workers' response to the arrogance of employers for whom we were essential when it came to maintaining production from the start of the pandemic. We stopped being so when it came time to claim salaries needed for us to lead dignified lives," the Argentine Federation of Oilseed Workers said in a statement.
Picketers were blocking entrance to terminals at soymeal factories around the Rosario ports hub, from which about 80% of the country's agro-exports flow. Other ports are also affected.
Rosario is located on the Parana River. Scores of cargo ships were docked along the waterway on Tuesday, waiting for the strike to end so loading could resume. Agricultural products are Argentina's main source of export dollars needed to help keep the country solvent amid a recession exacerbated by COVID-19.
With farmers currently planting corn and soybeans, Argentina's main cash crops, December is not peak export season. (Reporting by Hugh Bronstein and Jorge Otaola; Editing by Bernadette Baum and Lisa Shumaker)
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December 16, 2020 at 02:37AM
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UPDATE 2-Argentine oilseed workers continue strike after in wage talks fail - Successful Farming
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