16 the Argentinean Shipbuilding Industry
16 The Argentinean shipbuilding industry Workers’ struggles in a state shipyard Cintia Russo Introduction The aim of this chapter is to analyse the trajectory and survival of one of the oldest and largest ship repair yards in Argentina – Talleres Dársena Norte (also known as TANDANOR, and today known as Complejo industrial naval argentino, CINAR). I will also identify and analyse stages in the history of the Argentine shipbuilding industry (ASI) to provide context to the two Argentinean shipyards studied in this book. In this sense, I highlight the role played in this path by two social actors, the state and trade unions: the former is a key factor in the trajectory of the ASI, and the struggles of the latter have achieved the shipyard’s survival.1 Founded in 1879, TANDANOR was originally established for the maintenance of the Argentinean naval fleet. TANANDOR/CINAR, with a history of more than a century, has acquired, in the past twenty years, a symbolic status as one of the oldest shipyards in Argentina, and the first to be privatised in 1991, then managed by its workers for nearly a decade, and finally renationalised in 2007. TANDANOR is a representative example of the peaks and troughs of the Argentinean economy. 1 The sources used in these pages are: statistics (national, provincial, and chambers of com- merce), institutional documents, and reports and balance sheets of TANDANOR and the trade associations: the Federation of Industry Naval Argentina (FINA), the Association of Buenos Aires shipbuilding (ABIN). For the diagnosis and proposals of the shipbuilding trade unions, I privileged two sources: key informant interviews and the local press.
[Show full text]