The main trade unions in Argentina they collect a few every year $685 million through discounts on formal salaries, including for non-affiliated workers, as described in the latest report by consulting firm Zentrix.
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The survey analyzes how these resources arise from collective agreements The most significant in the country and have been maintained for decades, forming a structural system of compulsory financing for almost three million formal workers.
A contribution system that reaches members and non-members
According to the study, economic flow is nourished by the workers involved in the economy Main agreements: Trade, truck driving, construction, health, metallurgists, food, transportation, banking, catering, and light and energy. Together, these sectors generate contributions amounting to a Annual average of $327,000 for every employee.
These discounts, established in agreements, apply to all workers in the industry. regardless of whether they are connected or notwhich creates a permanent supplement to registered formal employment.
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The aim of the study was to quantify the contribution of each employee support a union financiallyregardless of their willingness to join. An employee under SMATA pays $719,680 annually; a truck driver, $509,340; and a trade worker, $356,590 per year.
Resource collection
The report describes the financial collection of each union. Trade leads with more than $304.6 million annually, followed by truckers with $79.4 million; Construction: $65.7 million; SMATA, $56.1 million; metallurgical, $48.4 million; dining, $45.1 million; Health: $32.6 million; Food, $24.9 million; La Bancaria, $16.9 million; and Luz y Fuerza, $11.3 million.
All of these figures come exclusively from the compulsory contributions provided for in collective agreements. The study highlights that this is the case a conservative groundas it does not include income from social work or other parallel union funding mechanisms.
Together, the ten unions manage funds amounting to: 0.11% of GDP under centralized structures, with minimal electoral competition and little control over resource management, as detailed in the Zentrix report.
A rigid union model with social issues
The study found that Argentina maintains a union model based on a single union per activity, agreements of general scope and compulsory dues even for non-members. This structure prevents the employee from choosing alternative representation or avoid rebates, thereby consolidating a permanent financial flow for large union organizations.
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Unlike other international systems, the Argentine case seems to be the most rigid in terms of coverage, internal competition and coercive financing, according to the analysis contained in the study.
In this context, the data from Opinion Monitor (MOP) by Zentrix in November 2025 reflect a significant deterioration in public perception: 63.9% of the population say they have a negative image of unions, while only 15.2% express a positive assessment.
The same survey suggests a extended questioning of the contribution system: 67.5% of Argentines support welcoming volunteers. For the majority, the system functions like a forced discount without control or clear justification, perceived as a tax on work whose fate is uncertain.
Finally, the report explained in detail that within this framework Social demand is growing for a model based on individual consent and greater transparency as a prerequisite for legitimizing current union funding.
GZ
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