Argentina
The UBA Returned to Plaza de Mayo with Open Classes and Free Care to Demand Funding
The university held a day of activity in front of the Casa Rosada and the Ministry of Economy to demand enforcement of the University Financing Law and compliance with court rulings. The deans of its 13 faculties took part, along with teachers, students and unions.
The University of Buenos Aires held a protest and public outreach day this Tuesday in Plaza de Mayo and in front of the Ministry of Economy to demand enforcement of the University Financing Law and compliance with judicial decisions linked to salary adjustments for teaching and non-teaching staff.
According to Perfil, the activities ran from morning until midnight and included public classes, scientific presentations and free services for the community. There were also mobile clinics and assistance booths for dentistry, optometry, veterinary care and medical care, as well as legal and accounting advice and psychological counseling.
The 13 deans of the UBA faculties took part in the demand, and delivered open master classes. Clarín added that Vice-Rector Emiliano Yacobitti was also present and that the sector’s unions helped organize the day and added their own demands.
The square was set up with desks, blackboards and trailers for health care, in a scene meant to show the scope of the work the university carries out beyond the classroom. Perfil also highlighted the presence of students in white coats and Kinesiology practices aimed at teaching exercises for different ailments.
One of the central points of the claim was the salary situation. According to Perfil, at the latest wage bargaining meeting on September 1 there was no agreement after teaching and non-teaching unions rejected an official 3% offer and said the gap is around 40%. Clarín, meanwhile, said universities and unions estimate an additional salary debt of 312% and linked that claim to the injunction issued in December and later upheld by the Supreme Court.
Perfil said that in June there was a new Supreme Court ruling ordering the Executive Branch to make the regulation effective, while Clarín specified that on June 25 the highest court upheld the injunction on salaries and student scholarships. Both outlets agreed that the Government has still not moved to comply.
According to Clarín, during the day there were also criticisms of the Judiciary over delays in enforcing that injunction. The outlet added that universities asked for sanctions to be applied for noncompliance.
At the same time, Clarín reported that the National Interuniversity Council will present its budget proposal for public universities in Congress, amid a conflict that has already prompted strikes and new protest measures in different faculties and at other higher education institutions across the country.
Sources
About this note. Written by El Notero with the assistance of artificial intelligence, based on what was published by the cited outlet. El Notero did not conduct its own reporting on this event.
