This Thursday, the city of Buenos Aires became the epicenter of a massive protest against the labor reform promoted by the government of President Javier Milei in Congress. Thousands of people gathered at the historic Plaza de Mayo with … the objective of demonstrating against the project which seeks to modify labor legislation. Protests also took place in different parts of the country.
It is worth noting that the launch of “labor modernization” represents one of the main objectives of the Milei government during the second half of its four-year term, which began on December 10. Among other issues, the new bill proposes changes in hiring, pay reductions, new rules for unions and extension of the working day up to 12 hours. Once the demonstration ended, the Head of State suffered a setback in Parliament this Thursday, and the initiative – which Casa Rosada wanted to approve before the end of this year – will not be discussed until February.
On a hot day at Buenos Aires –where temperatures exceeded 30°–, different unions and political organizations gathered in the city to protest against the “labor modernization” project that Casa Rosada seeks to approve. Although the official call was launched by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the mobilization was supported by other sectors of society. The central event took place at 3:00 p.m. local time and consisted of the reading of a document against the initiative promoted by the government.
From the stage, protesters expressed their desire to “take to the streets and fight for the rights of our family.” In addition, they announced the start of a plan of struggle which could trigger a general strike against the government of President Milei in the coming months. “If they don’t listen to us, there will be a national strike,” they warned. In addition to the manifestation of May Square, There were also mobilizations in different sectors of the country.
While the demonstration took place in the legendary square of Buenos Aires, the ruling party promoted, within Parliament, negotiations to advance the bill in the Senate. It should be noted that the government’s initiative proposes modifications to the right to strike, sets the priority of agreements by company and limits the ultraactivity of collective labor agreements. At the same time, the text also aims to reduce severance pay, extend the working day – via a bank of hours – and introduce changes in salary.
Setback in Congress
While outside Parliament the demonstrators warned of the possibility of an escalation of force measures, within Congress the legislative debate ended with a setback for the ruling party. This was recognized, once the day was over, by the former Minister of Security, Patricia Bullrich, who currently leads the La Libertad Avanza (LLA) bloc.
The lack of agreement on certain central points of the labor reform project, which the government wanted to transform into law before the end of this year, forced the postponement of the development of the law. Finally, the initiative which is already causing a sensation in the streets will not be discussed in Congress until next February.
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