The Argentine Congress on Friday adopted Argentine President Javier Milei’s flagship labor reform, handing victory to the libertarian leader in his push to boost hiring by loosening rules on working hours, dismissals and overtime.
The so-called “labor modernization law” allows working days of up to 12 hours, reduces severance pay, limits the right to strike and lowers employer taxes, among other provisions.
Milei hailed the passing of the law, which is the centerpiece of his radical free-market agenda.
Photo: AP
“HISTORIC. We have labor modernization,” he wrote on X.
The law brought thousands of people onto the streets in the past two weeks in protest over what they see as a rollback in workers’ rights.
Two protests outside parliament ended in clashes between the police and protesters, but a third demonstration on Friday saw only minor disturbances.
Polls showed Argentines divided on the reform, with 48.6 percent in favor and 45.2 percent against in a recent survey.
Milei said Argentina’s labor laws are outdated, too restrictive and discourage formal hiring. More than 43 percent of Argentine workers lack formal employment contracts.
Sergio Emiliozzi, a 60-year-old teacher, said that while the law was being promoted as a job creation tool, “it’s quite the opposite.”
“What this allows is for me to be easily fired,” he said.
Opposition parties and unions have scorned Milei’s claim that the reform would spur a hiring bonanza.
They point to the closure of about 21,000 companies and loss of 300,000 jobs since he took office as proof that his budget-slashing, deregulatory agenda, while praised for driving down inflation, is hurting the economy.
For Latin American Association of Labor Lawyers president Matias Cremonte, the reform is “regressive” and “based on a false premise.”
“Studies have shown that in no country in the world has labor legislation been decisive in creating or destroying jobs. That depends on economic policy,” he said.
A report by national statistics institute Indec on business sentiment showed that 80 percent of companies have no hiring plans for the next three months and 15 percent plan to lay off staff.
Argentine Industrial Union president Martin Rappallini welcomed the law’s aim to reduce the number of workplace lawsuits, but cautioned that unemployment “cannot be solved with a single law.”
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