Labor Unions in Argentina’s Transport Industry

Abstract:

• Truck Drivers Labor Union (Truckers) is the most powerful union in Argentina. As the national rail network infrastructure is poor, the dependency on truck transportation is high in the country.
• The high salary of drivers and the great bargaining power they possess for negotiating wage raises show the influence of this union in the country.
• The union also brings together other activities that are not related to trucks. For example, any employee who performs tasks related to cargo storage, inventory administration, internal movement of cargo, packing and control is part of the union. It is estimated that “Truckers” has over 200,000 union members.
• This article will provide an insight on how the situation of the union is affecting companies and the country. The main topics in this article are:
  • Representation of Labor wages in the total logistics cost
  • Dependency on truck transportation
  • Reasons for the union gaining power in recent years
  • “Truckers” union wages compared to other labor unions
  • Other employees who joined the “Truckers” union
  • Impact to shippers