Javier Milei’s government has a great ability to turn the meaning of words around. Drive in Labor reform what he calls “modernization.” In reality, it is an absolute setback to problems that have been overcome in Argentina and the world with battles that even cost lives, such as the eight-hour working day.
The national government’s project goes backwards in every respect and has a particular impact on women and diversity: it reopens the door to employer discretion in a context that is already very serious for employees. In the last two years that Milei governed Argentina, nearly 20,000 businesses were closed. The majority were SMEs that create large jobs. Aside from that, More than 270,000 jobs were lost.
It is a bill that we could describe as more of a “reform” than a setback in the labor market. These are measures that we already know. During the decade of 1990 we had flexibility. The only thing that increased was unemployment, precarity and informality. Pension funds and social insurance were withdrawn.
Authoritarians don’t like that
The practice of professional and critical journalism is a mainstay of democracy. That is why it bothers those who believe that they are the owners of the truth.
Several articles in the President’s bill go in the same direction. For example, the one who creates this Work Termination Fund. The funds will come from a portion of what is being provided for today Social work and retirement.
This definition also includes universal child benefit: the national government has committed to the IMF to stop indexing to inflation. It was the only welfare benefit recovered during the Milei years.
Labor reform, setback
The reform has an even more negative impact on female employees. Because? For example, work in private households employs 17% of the employed female population. This project “releases” this sector from the regulation of general employment contract law. The situation harkens back to the situation before the promulgation of Law No. 26,844, which specified that this sector is additionally subject to the contractual modalities of the Law, which applies to all activities.
The Work Termination Fund is established. “The funding will come from a portion of what is currently allocated for social work and pensions.”
Another important point is the famous “hour bank”. The project effectively eliminates the 8-hour working day, which can be increased to 12 at the employer’s decision. This directly conflicts with nursing tasks. How are those who care for girls, boys and people with chronic illnesses doing? disability or older people? Who is most responsible for nursing tasks? The women.
The tension will be like this: either you accept these conditions or you take care of the people. It contradicts what is being discussed in the world, where the reduction of working hours is discussed and it is proposed that care leave be equal and more inclusive for men and women.
Abolition of the Telework Act: a regulation that allows recognized care tasks to agree on schedules”
The Wage difference between men and women, which is the case in Argentina 27%has a lot to do with the fact that women in certain places cannot be better paid and more productive because that would require giving up care responsibilities. This will go even deeper.
It is not a law that modernizes. On the contrary, it makes people precarious, takes away their rights and limits the possibilities for collective association. The aim is an extreme individualization of the employment relationship and negotiations between employees and employers, which weakens the position of employees. That’s why it promotes agreements by company and not by industry. Abolition of the Telework Act: a regulation that recognizes care tasks in order to arrange schedules.
In this sense, it aims to reduce platform work. Again against the world, which is debating how to regulate this new form of employment so that it has more rights, not fewer.
12-hour days for slave labor
The alleged liberalism It relies on the idea that all people are equal before the law to justify arbitrariness.
Labor legislation has historically been driven by the understanding that there is no level playing field between employers and employees; It is an asymmetrical relationship because an employee does not negotiate with the employer on equal terms and labor law includes this principle.
The same applies to women too. There are historical inequalities between men and women Women where it is imperative that the state levels the playing field. Destroying this basic idea means deepening inequalities.
Without equality there is no freedom. There is no freedom when there is subjugation. Deny that asymmetry This relationship is a major setback. For this reason they also want to cancel Ultra Activity, which maintained the agreements even though they had expired until a new one was adopted. The agreement of salaries by companies implies greater bargaining power for employees.
We live in a time where technological advances have led to unprecedented levels of productivity. We see that Concentration of wealth in fewer and fewer hands and an increasingly precarious majority. This is the Milei model at its best.
We need to have a big discussion. There are almost 40% informal workers and this affects young people even more. New forms of work must be recognized in order to give them more rights. Nothing less. The elimination of inequalities is urgent, and their deepening is an unforgivable historical fact.
* Minister of Women and Diversity of the Province of Buenos Aires
About The Author
