In defeat for the president of Argentina, Javier Milei, the country’s courts provisionally suspended, this Monday, the 30th, the application of more than 80 articles of the new labor law that sought to reduce labor costs and limit the power of unions.
Labor judge Raúl Horacio Ojeda partially accepted a precautionary measure from the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the main trade union federation, against the reform approved by Congress on February 27.
“There are human rights at stake, with possible patrimonial and institutional responsibilities. Millions of current contracts await definitions on the application of the law and legal certainty regarding their content”, stated Ojeda, in a decision to which the AP had access.
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According to the judge, the precautionary measure should bring greater legal certainty by allowing the application of the rule only after the constitutionality and conventionality test requested by the CGT. The decision is valid until the merits are judged and can be challenged by the government.
Milei considers the reform, which changes legislation that is more than half a century old, essential to attract foreign investment, increase productivity and generate jobs in a country where around 40% of workers are informal. Unions, which blocked previous attempts at reform, claim that the changes are unconstitutional because they affect acquired rights.
Judge Ojeda suspended the new calculation basis for compensation, traditionally high, which excluded non-monthly payments such as the thirteenth, vacation and overtime. It also suspended the so-called Labor Assistance Fund, created for employers to finance future layoffs with a contribution of between 1% and 3%, depending on the company, on salaries.
The decision also included articles that sought to limit the power of unions, such as those that expanded the classification of essential activities – which would oblige unions to maintain minimum services in the event of a strike –, restricted the holding of assemblies and toughened sanctions against union activity.
The Argentine government did not comment on Ojeda’s decision.
