On 30 September, court employees in Argentina’s Chaco Province saw as much as 200,000 pesos, about US$131, deducted from their pay after a one-day strike, while a provincial bill proposed a separate pay guarantee for judges and senior court officials. The dispute pits the court’s authority to withhold pay for days not worked against unions’ demand to preserve the link between staff salaries and judges’ salaries.
The deductions and the bill
Chaco’s Superior Court of Justice (STJ) ordered the deductions in Resolution 865/26 after the stoppage on 18 September. El Destape reported on 3 October that deductions reached 200,000 pesos, about US$131. Chaco Ahora and NEA HOY reported a range of 120,000 to 200,000 pesos, about US$79 to US$131, for one day. The conversions use 1,523 pesos to the dollar, the 2 October close.
El Destape and NEA HOY said 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. Perfil reported on 22 September that the court also said a bill still under debate didn’t prove a breach by the employer. Payslips listed the deductions under code 000257. A further strike day, 25 September, could be deducted from October pay because of payroll timing, 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 measure would create 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.
Unions challenge the salary 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 the bill shelved. The STJ describes the measure as the executive’s response to a court ruling. Unions dispute that account, saying 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. Unions called the deductions legally unfounded and said they planned legal action, Chaco Ahora reported. FESITRAJU, the national federation of court unions, denounced a “salary confiscation.” 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.
Dispute continues without a published cost estimate
On 30 September, unions rejected a statement by the judges’ association backing the addition of court secretaries to the bill, Noticias Argentinas reported on 3 October. They said the scheme still selectively rewarded some ranks. Supporters present the bill as a way to bring Chaco’s judicial pay closer to national levels. The STJ has described deductions for days not worked as the normal rule.
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. Zdero sponsored the bill and, according to the reports reviewed, hadn’t commented. The number of workers whose pay was docked and the total withheld haven’t been published by the STJ or unions. The reports give no scheduled legislative vote or cost estimate for Bill 2141/26, and no new stoppage had been announced in the coverage.