Unions paralyze Argentina with a general strike in protest against Milei’s labor reform

The Government of the President of Argentina, Javier Mileyachieved this Friday modify the worker protection laws, which establish the social State, by approving the Congress of Deputies a controversial labor reform.

Despite this, Milei ignored everything. He traveled to the United States (visit number 15) and participated in the presentation of the Peace Board. There he received praise from Donald Trump – “I like this gentleman, he was behind in the (electoral) polls and he won when I supported him” – and he laughed, sang and clapped with the Hungarian Viktor Orbán.

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) also supported the Argentine president again. Your spokesperson, Julie Kozachassured that the organization welcomed “the measures in the labor market” because they seek “reduce labor informality and increase job creation.

Controversial law

The Government called it “labor modernization law”, but Its critics call it “counter-reformation.”. The truth is that it collapses several pillars of the social contract, which had been agreed upon by employers and workers during democratic governments.

Eliminate, for example, the eight-hour day and extends it up to 12 hours. At the same time, it eliminates the remuneration of overtime and records that time in a ‘bank of hours’ where they accumulate, until the employer grants a free day or day off.

It limits the right to strike by declaring essential tasks to those that were not essential before. Cut agreements: now they are agreed individually or by company, no longer by branch of activity. And vacations are taken in fragments of up to seven days.

Eliminates compensation for unjustified dismissalfreeing employers from that responsibility, and making it cheaper. Instead, it forms a Labor Assistance Fund with money extracted from salaries, the portion destined for social security and pensions, a million-dollar wealth that will be managed by private banks.

It benefits companies that create jobs by removing 85% of social security contributions. It also deducted half the salary of those who cannot work due to illness. But the general indignation was gigantic and The Government had to back down.

In short, the norm constitutes a chainsaw to union legislation in Argentina, which always stood out among the Ibero-American countries for its social State, amassed for decades between the leftist tradition of European immigration and Justicialism (Peronism).

Activity plummets

This change falls at a time of crisis for the business and work world. Since 2023, when Milei arrived at the Casa Rosada, almost 30 companies have closed per day, that is, 21,938 in total, as admitted by the government’s Superintendence of Occupational Risks (SRT).

The most recent lock was the tire factory FATE, an Argentine firm with 86 years of life. On Wednesday it announced its closure due to not being able to afford the bargain imports from China authorized by the President. Almost a thousand workers are left on the streets.

During the 802 days of the Milei adjustment and chainsaw experiment, 290,602 registered jobs were lost, the majority in the private sector. According to the official study, 11 of the 14 most dynamic branches had to lay off people.

Factory activity has been collapsing and many are already talking about industricidio. Since 2025, the utilization of installed productive capacity does not exceed 55% on average but in the metalworking sector it is reduced to 40%. Only in the 2020 pandemic was it worse.

The Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) complained that, with the removal of tariffs and the opening of imports “from Asia”, national companies face “unfair commercial practices” and “distorted competition.”

Now that it has been approved in Congress, the reform will return to the Senate, which has already given its half-sanction, for its final conversion into law before the end of the month. For the lucky ones, its validity is urgent: one of the articles, 195, eliminates taxes on yachts, aircraft and Rolex.