Tartagal municipal worker's health crisis highlights unpaid wages

A municipal employee in Tartagal was hospitalized in intensive care after collapsing, which the local SOEM union said resulted from stress caused by months of unpaid wages. The union described the situation as “very serious” and reported that the worker’s salary arrears range between 140,000 and 160,000 pesos.

Mayor Franco Hernández Berni was absent during the incident, prompting union leaders to demand explanations. The municipality later announced that the overdue payments had been deposited, and officials warned that further delays could provoke “forceful measures” by workers who are already exhausted by repeated postponements and additional financial burdens such as funeral and medical insurance costs.