General strike set to paralyze Uruguay on Thursday

A general strike to last 24 hours on Thursday has been called by the country's main workers' union, the PIT-CNT, as it demands better salaries and higher budgets for education and heathcare, among a number of priorities

The strike is set to paralyze the country as it will affect public transport, government offices, industry, services and private commerce.

The strike was called to back up the union's demands for a rise in salaries, a boost in public investment and for land to be allocated to unionized rural collectives.

"I am certain... that if the country is growing, salaries should also grow," Fernando Pereira, general coordinator of the PIT-CNT, told the Sarandi radio station on Wednesday.

He predicted that the strike would gather around one million workers, out of a total national population of 3.4 million, showing the "backing of the population for the union movement.

The strike will happen at a time when collective labor agreements are being renegotiated and while the government is advocating for austerity as the region continues to see an economic slowdown.

Furthermore, this situation is unfolding just days before President Tabare Vazques is due to send to Parliament his budget for the next five years, including union demands for an increase in investment for public health and education.

Thursday's strike will be the first faced by Vazquez, since he became president in March 2015.