Unions Say Purchasing Power Has Fallen Nearly 30% Since December 2023 and Demand Salary Increases Above 50%.
On Sunday, the National Confederation of University Professors (CONADU) announced that it will hold a 48-hour national strike beginning on Aug. 27.
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Supported by the Association of University Teaching Staff of the University of Buenos Aires (FEDUBA), the strike comes amid a dispute over the University Funding Law, which Congress ratified but whose implementation far-right President Javier Milei is delaying.
Public universities are not receiving the funding established by the law, despite Supreme Court rulings ordering its implementation. This delay affects both the day-to-day operation of the institutions and the payment of faculty salaries and student scholarships.
Argentine unions denounce that salary adjustments in recent months resulted from unilateral decisions, without formal collective bargaining, and were far below inflation. On Sunday, they also warn that they will intensify protests if the Milei administration does not offer concrete responses.
Na Argentina uma família inteira que tinha uma tinturaria faliu e agora vivem a 5 meses dentro de um carro e sobrevivem de doações de alique as pessoas lhes dão.
Essa é a situação miserável do povo argentino no governo irresponsável de @JMilei pic.twitter.com/J2k7sZxl1J—
Porã ( Humanista)
(@LilliunAzules) August 18, 2026
The text reads, “In Argentina, an entire family that owned a dry cleaning business went bankrupt and has been living in their car for five months, surviving thanks to donations of hair dye. This is the deplorable situation of the Argentine people under the irresponsible government of Javier Mili.”
They estimate that the sector’s purchasing power has fallen by nearly 30% since December 2023, meaning they would need an increase of more than 50% to recover the purchasing power of that date.
The loss of purchasing power hits hardest professors working under employment arrangements that involve 10 hours per week (“Simple Dedications”) and 20 hours per week (“Semi-Exclusive Dedications”).
The unions also highlighted that the loss of real income is driving an exodus of professors and researchers with graduate degrees, most of whom are moving to the private sector or leaving the country. This loss of talent threatens the country’s education quality and scientific production.
So far, the Milei administration has been in noncompliance with the University Funding Law for more than 300 days. The Supreme Court upheld the preliminary injunctions requiring the Argentine government to implement the law and update salaries and student scholarships.
The salary agreement to increase wages by 24.3%, which Milei reached with university rectors, does not comply with what the law establishes. In Articles 5 and 6, it requires an automatic salary adjustment for inflation since December 2023, which would mean an increase of more than 50% over current salaries.
teleSUR/ JF
Source: M1
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