The crisis in National Parks is deepening and, today, the lack of personnel reaches critical levels, with Bariloche as one of the most affected key points.
In this regard, the State Workers Association (ATE) expressed their concern about the emptying of areas.
Furthermore, they warned about the impossibility of fulfilling the conservation tasks in one of the country’s most important nodes.
The union denounced that the areas of National Parks in Bariloche lost 20% of their workforce.
According to El Cordillerano, fifty employees left their positions due to layoffs, resignations, retirements, and pensions since Javier Milei came to power.
The situation directly affects the Nahuel Huapi National Park, the first of its kind in Argentina and the second largest, with 717,000 hectares under protection.
The critical areas of National Parks without coverage
The crisis in National Parks impacted multiple strategic areas operating from Bariloche.
The delegation body of ATE National Parks detailed that, by the end of 2023, there were two hundred seventy positions in the city.
The delegates noted that this number was already “far below the necessary” to carry out tasks with the expected efficiency and preserve the natural and cultural heritage.
However, many of these positions were still cut, affecting key areas such as:
- The Northern Patagonia Regional Directorate: technical instance of conservation throughout northern Patagonia
- The Directorate of Forest Fire and Emergency Management: national logistics and planning for fires
- Southern Infrastructure Coordination: working throughout Patagonia
- The Southern Regional Operations Directorate: with Patagonian reach
The impact of the expulsive policy and salary freeze
Since taking office, the government of Javier Milei has executed personnel reductions in national agencies, and National Parks did not escape this policy, with a special impact in Bariloche.
“To layoffs and retirements was added a sustained expulsive policy of salary freeze on wages that had already been continuously depreciating over the last ten years,” stated ATE in dialogue with El Cordillerano
Since the vacant positions were not filled by new personnel, tasks are partially carried out with overload on those who remain in the agency, extending deadlines and reducing the response capacity.
The urgent demands of National Parks
From ATE they demanded the immediate hiring of more personnel to fill the vacant positions.
“We need more park rangers to ensure institutional presence, oversight, and conservation in the territory,” they stated.
The union also demanded more professionals to meet the demand for technical analysis in the field and offices on flora, fauna, and environmental impact.
Furthermore, with the start of the fire season , the situation becomes critical.
“We desperately need even more firefighters for a season that is expected to be extremely complex in Northern Patagonia,” they warned.
The crisis unfolds in a context where fires of very high spread have been recorded, even in the urban center of Bariloche.
Among the specific demands are:
- more budget for hiring;
- salary increases;
- the application of a compensatory bonus;
- the opening of sectoral negotiations, and;
- annual renewals of contracts.
“In National Parks there is a lack of personnel, a lack of stability, a lack of decent wages,” the union stated.
And they emphasized the importance of their role: “National Parks is a fundamental agency for the protection of our common goods and the environment“.
