Argentina is going on a general strike to protest against labor reform

Buenos Aires.- Argentina's labor unions have called for a general strike this Thursday in protest against the labor reform project, promoted by the government of the far-right Javier Milei and which will be debated by the plenary of the Chamber of Deputies. The General Confederation of Labour (CGT), the country's largest trade union, and the Workers' Central of Argentina (CTA) are the protagonists of the call for this 24-hour strike, which begins this morning. This is the fourth general strike since Milei assumed the Argentine Presidency in December 2023. The strike will affect all types of activities, including passenger transport. According to official sources, the Ministry of Labor urged the train and bus unions "to refrain from carrying out any direct action measures they had planned to implement."

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The Government warned those unions that the adoption of any forceful measure "would constitute a breach of the mandatory labor conciliation duly ordered and currently in force" for those unions. The core of the protest is the labor reform promoted by the Executive through a controversial bill that was already approved by the Senate on February 12, when a pitched battle broke out between police and protesters near the Congress. It will now be debated by the Lower House this Thursday, in a session that is expected to last for several hours.

The Bill

The CGT has called a strike without mobilization in the streets, but the CTA, other unions and social and left-wing movements have called for a demonstration in the Plaza del Congreso, in Buenos Aires. The so-called labor modernization project radically changes the conditions of labor relations in Argentina, where there is a high level of informal employment and where thousands of formal jobs have been destroyed in recent years. The initiative changes the calculation of severance payments; creates the Labor Assistance Fund (FAL), which would allow employers to make monthly contributions to cover potential layoffs; introduces modifications to the vacation and overtime system; and restricts the right to strike, among other points. Unions allege that the reform implies a reduction of rights for workers, while employers are generally in favor of the project, but warn that to generate formal work, economic growth is needed through credit and investment, and a more vigorous domestic market.

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Sports

One of the most criticized aspects of the bill is the reduction of salary in case of leave due to illness or accident, so the ruling party agreed to withdraw that article to get broad support in Thursday's session among the allied blocs. Due to this modification, if approved this Thursday, the initiative must return to the Senate for a new debate.