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7 April, 2002The International Metalworkers' Federation is demanding the involvement of trade unions in decisions over future economic and social policies.
ARGENTINA: Today (April 8) marks the start of a three-day IMF mission to Argentina. The decision to undertake this mission resulted from the extreme crisis situation which has developed in Argentina, and the devastating impact it is having on the country's workers and their families.
The purpose of the mission is to express the IMF's support with its affiliates in Argentina and to denounce the policies of the International Monetary Fund, which have played havoc with the national economy. The IMF is demanding that trade unions be involved in the discussion over future economic and social policies.
In addition to meeting with all IMF Argentinean affiliates and with labour centers, the group will hold talks with Minister of Labour Alfredo Atanasof, with the Chamber of Automotive Industry (ADEFA), the Centre of Steel Industrialists (CIS), the Argentine Metallurgic Industry (ADIMRA) and the Chamber of Mining Entrepreneurs (CAEM). At the time of writing, a meeting with Argentina's president, Eduardo Duhalde, had still not been confirmed.
The IMF group is comprised of representatives from IMF headquarters in Geneva, including IMF General Secretary Marcello Malentacchi, and from the regional office in Santiago, Chile, as well as representatives from IMF-affiliated unions in Brazil, Canada, France, Spain and the USA.