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Argentina’s New Elected President Lays Off 5K Gov’t Employees
11:20 AM – Wednesday, December 27, 2023
Argentinian President Javier Milei has announced that he will not be renewing the contracts of thousands of government employees.
On Tuesday, the Libertarian’s office announced that his administration would not be renewing the contracts of 5,000 government employees hired before Milei took office.
The move is a part of his plan to transform Argentina’s struggling economy.
According to officials, contracts for other government workers hired before 2023 will be examined. It appears that the 2023 deadline is intended to combat the custom of departing presidents inflating their final year’s salary.
With an estimated 200% inflation rate by year’s end, Milei has promised to cut back on payrolls and regulations while permitting the privatization of state-run businesses in an effort to increase investments and exports.
The new cutbacks have caused many protests, but Milei stated that he will continue to “rebuild the country.”
“The goal is (to) start on the road to rebuilding our country, return freedom and autonomy to individuals and start to transform the enormous amount of regulations that have blocked, stalled and stopped economic growth,” he said.
About 300 of the previously announced changes would weaken consumer, employee, and renter protections and target numerous government-owned businesses for privatization.
The actions include closing certain government ministries, slashing energy and transportation subsidies, and devaluing the Argentinean peso by 50%. They coincide with both rising rates of poverty and inflation.
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/argentinas-new-elected-president-lays-off-5k-govt-employees/
Eiffel Tower Shuts Down As Employees Go On Strike On 100th Anniversary Of Founder’s Death
4:18 PM – Wednesday, December 27, 2023
The Eiffel Tower has been shut down to the public due to staff going on strike on the 100th anniversary of the death of its inventor, Gustave Eiffel.
On the 100th anniversary of Gustave Eiffel’s death, employees went on strike ahead of contract negotiations with the city of Paris, which prompted the closure of the Eiffel Tower to the general public.
The monument was closed on Wednesday and it remains unknown when it will open again.
Frustrated tourists who previously bought tickets to enter the 134-year-old tower were notified about the closure and will be alerted through email about their bookings and when they can reschedule.
The strike was launched by the left-wing General Confederation of Labour (CGT) union before contract negotiations with the City Hall of Paris, which owns the monument.
The union announced that they were demonstrating “the current way it is managed” and also mentioned that its manager was “headed for disaster.”
Tourists still have the ability to enter the glass-enclosed waterfront under the tower, however, entry into the 984-foot landmark has been shut down until further notice.
The operating company, SETE, has been accused by union leaders of “heading for disaster” due to its “too ambitious and unsustainable” business model, which is based on an overly-optimistic projection of future ticket sales revenue and an underestimate of the skyrocketing costs of maintenance and repairs.
The CGT stated that management said that the business model was predicated on an “inflated estimate of future visitor numbers” and underestimating construction costs.
Approximately 800 employees work at the Eiffel Tower every day and 6,000,000 visitors attend the famous structure every year. According to the organization that operates the tower, SETE, this makes the site the “most visited ticketed monument in the world.”
Gustave Eiffel was 91-years-old when he died on December 27th, 1923. He was an ideological entrepreneur and intelligent structural engineer who, when approached to create a symbol of French industrial savoir-faire for the 1889 Universal Exhibition, had just finished working with Eugène Viollet-le-Duc of Notre Dame Cathedral to build an iron and steel skeleton for the Statue of Liberty in New York.
https://www.oann.com/newsroom/eiffel-tower-shuts-down-as-employees-go-on-strike-on-100th-anniversary-of-founders-death/