Argentina's ATE union mobilises workers and SMEs against government austerity

The Asociación Trabajadores del Estado (ATE) has launched a coordinated push to defend jobs and national production amid what it calls an "industricidio" under President Javier Milei. In Buenos Aires, ATE met with representatives of small‑ and medium‑size enterprises to agree on a joint plan of action, citing 27,000 company closures and more than 300,000 lost jobs in the public and private sectors. The union said the alliance will combine guild, judicial and parliamentary measures.

ATE also denounced recent dismissals at the Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA), labeling them a “blow to the heart of Argentina’s nuclear plan” and accusing the government of paving the way for privatisation. Secretary‑general Rodolfo Aguiar warned that the union is prepared to call a new national strike and demanded the removal of officials appointed during former chief‑of‑staff Manuel Adorni’s tenure.

At the municipal level, ATE has pressed local authorities in Aguaray and Concordia to regularise contracted staff and has even appealed to the Bishop of Concordia for mediation after layoffs. Across these actions, ATE stresses a unified front between workers and productive sectors to counter what it sees as a systematic dismantling of state employment.