Argentine police protest after giant pay error

Thousands of police took to the streets across Argentina on Wednesday after their pay was slashed by 30 to 60 per cent in what the government said was an administrative error.

Marchers in the upscale Puerto Madero neighbourhood in Buenos Aires waved pay stubs, chanting “Nobody touches our pay!”

Police protests also were reported in cities such as Cordoba, Rosario and Comodoro Rivadavia.

Government chief of staff Juan Manuel Abal Medina said the pay cuts were a mistake.

“The pay reduction was the result of a disastrous administrative action,” he said, adding that most officers would receive their missing pay immediately.

The officers were from two forces, the Naval Prefecture police and the Gendarmerie, that once specialised in patrolling the river and borders.