CGT demands in-person meeting to discuss Argentina's minimum wage

The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) has formally requested that the upcoming meeting of the National Council for Employment, Productivity, and the Minimum, Vital, and Mobile Wage (SMVM) be held in person rather than virtually. The meeting, scheduled for August 28, was officially convened by the government via Resolution 1/2026 to discuss adjustments to the minimum wage and unemployment benefits.

In a note addressed to Labor Undersecretary Claudia Silvana Testa, the CGT leadership argued that the virtual format is unsuitable for discussions of such institutional importance. They stated that a face-to-face meeting is necessary to “guarantee direct exchange between the parties, the possibility of effective negotiation, and the due transparency and legitimacy of what is resolved there.”

The union highlighted the urgent need for effective negotiation due to the sustained loss of purchasing power, the decline in registered employment, and the economic uncertainty facing the national productive sector. Currently, the minimum wage stands at 376,600 pesos, a figure the CGT contends must be addressed amidst rising economic instability and labor precarity.