Argentina: TELAM Agency Workers Reject 'Voluntary Retirement'

On Tuesday, workers of the TELAM news agency rejected the "voluntary resignation plan" proposed by Argentine President Javier Milei, who announced the dissolution of this public institution on March 1st.

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On Sunday, TELAM authorities sent journalists a severance agreement that includes financial compensation according to age and years of work. The Buenos Aires Press Union (SIPREBA), however, rejected this proposal.

Since Monday, TELAM has been intervened and surrounded by a police cordon to prevent workers from entering. For the Milei administration considers them a "security problem."

"There was the possibility of physical conflict... We will imprison those who cause trouble... within the TELAM staff there are 100 troublemakers," the far-right President said, insinuating that some workers are actually criminals.

The text reads, "We are family. We are professionals. We are journalism. We are federalism. We want to work. We want to inform. We are TELAM, Argentina's advertising and news agency."

After the establishment of the cordon around the TELAM building, Intervenor Diego Chaher informed 760 workers that they are exempt from providing services for seven days but without prejudice to receiving income corresponding to that period.

The union indicated that this offer occurred "in a context of intimidation and discipline with the perverse intention of forcing workers to accept the severance proposal."

TELAM was founded in 1945 by then Labor Secretary Juan Domingo Peron, who would later become Argentina's president three times and the ideologue of the largest and most enduring popular movement that this South American country has managed to form so far.