The Oilseed Workers’ Union (Sindicato de Aceiteros) has once again raised the stakes against the labor reform promoted by the national government and warned that it will not stand idly by if the bill continues its progress in Congress. The general secretary, Daniel Yofra, that “every time it is debated,” they will go on a general strike in defense of workers’ rights.

“The union’s position has always been firm: we said that every time the (labor reform) is debated, we will go on strike,” Yofra affirmed, linking it to the industrial action taken on December 18 last year, which he defined not only as a way to “ensure our position” but also to reject what he called “a completely regressive law for the working class.”

The leader also criticized the negotiations between the Government and the governors, describing them as a “swap of the working class’s future with the political class.” “We cannot wait for the governors to decide on workers’ lives, especially when almost none of them have ever worked under a boss,” Yofra argued.

For the oilseed leader, “the union federations need to understand that we have to go out and fight—there is no other alternative.” “Street mobilization alone is not enough; production must stop nationwide. We have to make the governors feel that if they vote against the workers, sooner or later, we will make them pay for it,” he warned.

Yofra also referred to the CGT (General Confederation of Labor), which he has historically criticized, and welcomed the fact that the new central triumvirate has come out declaring it will go on strike. “This will be insufficient if the strike is limited to just one day. If there is a plan of struggle, we will be able to confront this and any other measure,” he maintained.

The oilseed workers’ warnings come amid widespread union rejection of the main points of the official bill, which—according to unions like the CGT—would limit union activity and reduce traditional workers’ rights, such as collective bargaining and the right to strike.

With parliamentary debate in full swing and various unions already announcing joint or individual actions against the reform, the showdown between the labor movement and the Government promises to intensify in the coming weeks.