Today, teachers and workers under the UPCN and Fregabba, the Buenos Aires province’s unions of teachers and workers, will strike for 48 hours causing disruptions to classes and other facilities in the province and capital.

The strike means a suspension of classes for the next two days and will also affect hospitals, the courts as well as other provincial procedures. The workers will be marching, which will limit access to parts of both the city and province of Buenos Aires.

The decision was reached after teachers of the Frente Gemial rejected the provincial government’s plan to pay the workers’ midyear bonus in instalments instead of in one payment, a measure proposed by Provincial Governor Danial Scioli last week. The strike also comes after a 48-hour halt to work that happened last week.

The provincial federation of workers (Fegeppba) has also decided to stop work and march for 48 hours starting tomorrow and ending on Saturday. Both movements have officials worried that Scioli will be forced to call an official economic emergency for the province and has them concerned that the conflict will escalate.

Leader of the Provincial ATE Oscar de Isasi believed that Scioli made the decision against judge Luis Arias, who felt the province should pay the bonus at one time.

“The governor is not responding to the reality that 70% of the workers want to receive the whole bonus all at once [as opposed to in instalments],” said Isasi. “Based on [Scioli's decision] we say he is guaranteeing the conflict.”