Alfonsín kept a regulation from the dictatorship that allowed him to regulate the level of wages. He authorized wage increases every three months, to keep them up to the inflation rate. The CGT rejected this, and proposed instead that wages be determined by free negotiations. Alfonsín allowed strike actions, which were forbidden during the dictatorship, which gave the unions another way to expand their influence. There were thirteen general strikes and thousands of minor labor conflicts. However, unlike similar situations in the past, the CGT sided with Alfonsín during the military rebellions, and did not support the removal of a non-Peronist president. The conflicts were caused by high inflation, and the unions requested higher wages in response to it. The unions got the support of the non-unionized retirees, the church and left-wing factions. Popular support for the government allowed it to endure in spite of opposition from the unions.