A strike in Argentina halting grain and edible oil shipments entered into its seventh day on Tuesday. Unions under Argentina's Confederacion General de Trabajo blocked access to the ports last week, demanding a minimum wage increase to match those of workers at the crushing plants. The Chamber of Commerce has asked the federal government to order the strikers back to work, something which the union says it will respect if ordered to do so by the government. The dispute is expected to be at the beginning of more labor disputes going into national elections in October, and as unions seek wage increases to counteract inflation.
See "Argentina Limits Shipping to Ports Hit By Strike", Ken Parks, The Wall Street Journal, January 31, 2011