(Adds continuation of strike)
By Maximilian Heath
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 3 (Reuters) - Activity halted on Thursday at various grain-processing plants in Argentina's agro-industrial hub north of Rosario due to an open-ended union strike that began in the early hours of the morning, the head of the local CIARA crushers chamber said.
The SOEA oilseed workers union is striking over demands for bonus payments for working during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The labor group first said the work stoppage would be for 24 hours. Later on Thursday it said it would last beyond that, without stating an end date. The workers held a strike in October over the same issue, and talks with the companies since then have failed to break the deadlock. members will meet late Friday afternoon to decide their next step, the SOEA said in a statement.
Argentina is the top exporter of soyoil and meal, derived from soybeans grown on the country's fertile Pampas grains belt.
"The San Lorenzo (plants) are stopped," Gustavo Idígoras, president of CIARA, which represents major crushing companies, told Reuters. In Puerto General San Martín and Timbúes - the other towns that make up the agro-export hub - SOEA union workers were working part-time, he said.
"We insist on resuming dialogue and negotiation," Idigoras added. "We have already agreed to the salary increase until August of next year. The special COVID bonus that they are asking us (for) is impossible. We need to return to the table to close the agreement soon."
Commodity groups Cargill, COFCO International, Terminal 6, a joint venture between Bunge BG.N and the local AGD, and Argentina's Buyatti have crushing plants in San Lorenzo. Together they have a daily processing capacity of 35,500 tonnes, based on data from the Rosario grains exchange.
The agro-export center located about 50 kilometers (31.07 miles) north of Rosario concentrates about 80% of the agricultural and agro-industrial exports of Argentina.