In Argentina, the debate about modernizing the world of work often gets stuck between slogans. For some, any reform means a loss of rights; For others, only limitless flexibility can solve current problems. None of these approaches address the core of the challenge: we have labor legislation that no longer reflects the country’s production structure or the changes in the world of work. Maintaining rules that ignore reality only exacerbates inequality and hinders growth.
Four out of ten workers now work in the informal sector. They work every day, but without vacation, health insurance, pension contributions or stability. The situation is even more serious among young people: six out of ten people under the age of 29 work in informal jobs and their unemployment rate is three times that of adults. For people with fewer means, taking up a formal job is the door to escaping structural poverty.
If the aim of the reform is to expand registered employment, Facilitating new hires is essential. Temporary and targeted reductions in employer burdens for those who hire workers – especially young people and SMEs – should not be seen as a business advantage but as an active formalization policy.
Modernizing labor regulations is key to maintaining work as a driver of development. The goal is not to take away rights, but to extend them to those who are now outside the system. For youth, the reform represents a strategic opportunity. Young people renew human capital, drive innovation and secure the demographic bonus that can accelerate growth. Strengthening technical training, regulating apprenticeship contracts, better linking education and employment, and incentives for hiring workers are essential measures for their formal introduction.
In an economy that needs to grow, recognizing achievement does not lead to inequality; promotes training, responsibility and mobility. Therefore, Supplementing contract salaries with incentives linked to productivity is a great tool.
It is also necessary to enable regional or company collective bargaining to adapt the rules to the productive diversity of our country. What a wine SME in Mendoza needs in terms of labor is not comparable to the needs of a technology company in Buenos Aires. A unified system for such different realities encourages closures, informality and job losses. Decentralization does not weaken the trade union movement: makes it more representative in a market where SMEs create 56% of jobsaccording to Indec economic census data.
The reform project presented modernizes the labor system by updating rules that today lead to rigidity, unnecessary costs and high informality. By redefining the scope of the Employment Contracts Act, mandating casual contracts, limiting joint and several liability to cases of fraud or insolvency and expanding unpaid benefits, the proposal promotes formalization and reduces litigation without affecting essential rights. Digitizing records and receipts simplifies procedures and reduces administrative burdens, especially for SMEs.
In summary, these are the regulations that govern the current labor market It is old and attacks both employees and employers, like a foot on the head that cripples human resources, an important economic engine for growth.
Argentina has the opportunity to forge a new working pact: one that protects, that encourages, that includes and that enables growth. Not implementing reforms means accepting that informality and low productivity remain the norm. Responsible reforms rely on a a fairer, more prosperous and more productive future.
National Deputy (Force of Change)
About The Author
