On 18 September, court employees in Argentina’s Chaco Province struck, and some had as much as 200,000 pesos, about US$131, deducted from their pay, El Destape reported on 3 October. Chaco Ahora and NEA HOY reported deductions of 120,000 to 200,000 pesos, about US$79 to US$131, for one day. The dollar conversions use the 2 October close of 1,523 pesos to the dollar.
FESITRAJU, the national federation of court unions, denounced the deductions as a “salary confiscation.” The unions said the deductions lacked legal grounds and planned to take legal action, Chaco Ahora reported.
Pay Docked, Bill Still Pending
After the stoppage, Chaco’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ordered the deductions in Resolution 865/26. El Destape and NEA HOY reported that the court identified strikers using attendance records and office reports. The STJ’s position was that staff who provided no service that day had no claim to that day’s pay.
The court also said that a bill still under debate didn’t prove the employer had breached its obligations, Perfil reported on 22 September. Payslips listed the deductions under code 000257. Because of payroll timing, a further strike day, 25 September, could be deducted from October pay, El Destape and NEA HOY reported.
The dispute centres on Bill 2141/26, which Governor Leandro Zdero sent to the provincial Chamber of Deputies. The bill would establish a pay guarantee, described as “intangibility,” for judges and senior court officials. According to Perfil, their pay would move toward the national average in four six-month stages: 85%, 90%, 95% and 100%, followed by quarterly reviews.
Supporters say the bill would bring Chaco’s judicial pay closer to national levels. The proposal’s reported pay guarantee covers judges and senior court officials; it wouldn’t extend the same guarantee to all court staff, as described in the article.
Unions Challenge the Pay Structure
Unions say the proposal breaks the percentage link in provincial Law 468-A, which ties staff pay to judges’ salaries. They call the separation “desenganche,” or decoupling, and want lawmakers to shelve the bill. The STJ describes the bill as the executive’s response to a court ruling. Unions reject that account: they say an ad hoc tribunal of judges who would benefit endorsed the scheme, Chaco On Line reported.
The Intergremial Judicial, a front of court unions, held a walkout on 24 September and a full stoppage on 25 September. Its surveys put participation at 70% to 75%, Litigio reported on 26 September. The unions also want Article 9 of Law 3424-A, which pegs judicial pay to the northeast regional average, applied to all court staff, not only judges.
On 30 September, the unions rejected a statement by the judges’ association backing the addition of court secretaries to the bill, Noticias Argentinas reported on 3 October. The unions said the scheme still selectively rewarded some ranks. Provincial Finance Minister Alejandro Abraam rejected the unions’ interpretation of decoupling and said the law linking staff pay to judges’ salaries would remain in force, Perfil reported.
No Published Total for the Deductions
Zdero sponsored the bill and, according to the reports reviewed, hadn’t commented. The reports said he won the province from the Peronists in 2023. The STJ has described deductions for days not worked as the normal rule.
The STJ and unions haven’t published how many workers had their pay docked or the total withheld. The reports also give no scheduled legislative vote or cost estimate for Bill 2141/26. No new stoppage had been announced in the coverage.