Protesters angered by attempts to cut their jobs have trapped an Argentinian mayor in his town hall.

Concepción mayor Roberto Sánchez told local news media on Tuesday that he has been stuck in the building since demonstrators began setting up flaming barricades with tires on Monday.

The demonstrators say that the mayor has refused to honor the contracts of hundreds of workers hired by his predecessor. He says the earlier mayor left heavy debts and hired people needlessly just before leaving office in Concepción, which is located about 750 miles (1,200km) north-west of Buenos Aires.

The number of people working now “makes the municipality inviable”, said Sánchez, adding that the former mayor had 650 staffers and increased that to up to 1,070 before he left.

“Our throats are itching from the smoke coming in through the windows,” he said of the burning tires in front of city hall.

Other mayors in Argentina also face opposition after a transfer of power that came with the recent elections, in which the ruling party lost in several cities nationwide. Some have bickered within the same ruling party.

Gustavo Menéndez, the recently elected mayor of Merlo, on the outskirts of Buenos Aires, has accused outgoing mayor Raúl Othacehé of encouraging the takeover of more than 300 low-income homes by some 3,000 homeless families. On Tuesday, the government of Buenos Aires province sent hundreds of police to the area, but they were awaiting court orders before carrying out evictions.