Port workers across Argentina will strike for 24 hours, starting at 12:00 am on Friday, in a continuation of their campaign to get access to Covid vaccinations.

After a work stoppage in May, port workers were told by the government on May 26 that they would be classified as essential workers and would be prioritized to receive vaccines. They returned to work and have yet to be vaccinated.

The nine unions that have joined in this week’s strike said in a statement, “We have raised the issue and held meetings with different authorities with the purpose to obtaining concrete answers regarding the application of vaccines against Covid-19 to our workers. But to date, we have not obtained concrete answers or solutions.”

In response, five port industry chambers have asked the government to intervene to prevent the strike, as reported by Reuters, and allow shipping to “continue operating normally while the request from the unions is resolved favourably.”

According to data in Reuters Covid-19 Tracker, as of June 17, cases in Argentina are falling. The country has administered almost 16.9m doses of vaccine. “Assuming every person needs 2 doses, that’s enough to have vaccinated about 18.8% of the country’s population,” says the site.