Public universities launch largest strike in 12 years

Public universities in Argentina last week launched the largest university strike in the last 12 years to demand that President Mauricio Macri set aside a higher budget for education as the government continues to prioritise an austerity agenda, reports TeleSUR.

The main demand behind the strike is a higher budget for science and technology and a wage increase of 35% for teachers. Since early March, thousands of Argentine teachers in Buenos Aires and other cities have protested cuts to education under Macri's government.

"In the context of a conflict that has been going on for almost two months without any response from the national government, and in view of the attacks and smearing against teachers, the right to peacefully strike and the lack of budget for the public university and science and technology, the plenary resolved to deepen the claims with a National Plan of Struggle," said a statement from the University of Buenos Aires teachers' union, FEDUBA.
Full report on the TeleSUR site