Javier Milei is left without his aggressive labor reform

2024 starts on the wrong foot for the ultraliberal economist and president of Argentina, Javier Milei, after the Justice of that country determined that his labor reform proposal, presented as a decree of necessity and urgency (DNU), is unfeasible.

Temporarily, the National Chamber of Labor Appeals of the neighboring country to the south decided this Wednesday to suspend, although only provisionally, the document that had just come into force on December 29 with the intention of deregulating the labor market for 46 million Argentines. .

They had been the members of the labor union General Confederation of Labor (CGT) who requested the suspension, approved by the magistrates Andrea Garcia Vior and Alejandro Sudera. Dora González did not give in.

The new Peronist attempt—as cited by local media—came to fruition after a day of protests against the DNU the previous week. Even the governor of La Rioja, Ricardo Quintela, urged the judges of the Supreme Court to approve the suspension.

This is a ruling that deactivates the applicability of the provisions in Title IV of Milei’s DNU, which contemplates changes in labor trials, extension of trial periods in companies and reduction of pregnancy leaves, among other measures. That, without counting 12-hour days.

Some of the main criticisms that have occurred since the change of command pointed to the offered reduction of all contributions that employers have for the retirement of their workers, as well as the amount that must be paid for arbitrary dismissal and for fines associated with “poor registration.” ” which is used to measure productivity. The CGT did not like it.

Omnibus law in suspense

Previously, the new liberal government in Argentina He had outlined a counterpart to labor reform: the so-called omnibus law, with which he hoped to accumulate legislative powers to further deregulate the economy. Already the Minister of Economy, Luis Caputohad made his intention clear on December 12.

Now, Milei is between a rock and a hard place to carry out his reforms: reconcile a coalition with the parliamentary class of his country, and face the social mobilizations, which have not announced any decline in their struggle despite the ruling.

In any case, the appeals for protection filed against the labor DNU, in the courts of Argentina, already exceed ten.

The challenge for non-reformists will be to demonstrate the unconstitutionality of the new DNU. This document is used, according to the Magna Carta, to modify “in an exceptional manner” the legal system of that country in the event of a natural or social catastrophe scenario, such as the one Milei understood with inflation.

“It is not explained how the proposed reforms, if applied immediately and outside the normal process of enacting laws, could remedy the situation regarding the generation of formal employment,” reports the National Chamber of Labor Appeals of Argentina.

Meanwhile, CGT is preparing for a national strike on January 24, the date on which the privatization of public companies will also be rejected.

Argentina: IMF and inflation in Milei’s sights

The Argentine government will receive a delegation from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on Thursday, with which it is close to reaching an agreement on a delayed review of its US$44 billion program, Reuters reported.

The inflation of 2023 in Argentina was the highest since 1990. According to local media such as Clarín, the year for Argentines closed with an increase in the price index of between 210% and 220%. The month of December, with the change of Government and the devaluation jump involved, dealt the death blow to the country, with a jump of around 29%.

Figures

• 3.5 million people work for the Argentine State, according to the Ministry of Labor.
• The base of public workers in Argentina grew 26.5% during the last decade.