Major Argentine Union Challenges President’s Labor Law Changes in Court

Argentina's biggest labor union has filed a lawsuit to stop President Javier Milei's major workplace reforms that passed Congress last week. The General Confederation of Labor claims the new law violates workers' constitutional rights and will hurt job protections.

BUENOS AIRES, Argentina — The largest labor union organization in Argentina took legal action Monday to stop major workplace reforms championed by President Javier Milei that would dramatically reshape employment laws across the South American nation.

Congress gave final approval to the legislation on Friday, which provides business owners with increased authority over employment decisions, terminations, compensation packages and union negotiations while reducing the traditional influence labor organizations have wielded.

“This law represents a serious infringement of collective and individual rights that expressly violate constitutional principles,” the General Confederation of Labor, known as CGT, declared in their official statement following the court filing in Buenos Aires.

The legal challenge questions whether the reforms comply with Argentina’s constitution, claiming they breach the “principle of progressivity” that protects existing worker benefits from being rolled back, as well as the “protective principle” designed to prevent workplace exploitation and maintain fair employer-employee relationships.

“The damages are not collateral effects of an isolated decision, but are consistent with the national government’s economic and social program,” CGT officials stated, pointing to more than 300,000 job losses that have occurred since Milei assumed the presidency in late 2023 with promises of fiscal discipline and major economic changes.

Following the legislation’s passage on Friday, Milei described the overhaul as “historic” and declared, “We have a labor modernization.”

The path to approval was marked by significant conflict between Milei’s administration and opposition lawmakers. Tensions reached a peak last month as the bill moved through the lower chamber, with CGT organizing a day-long national work stoppage while protesters from multiple left-wing organizations fought with law enforcement officers near the congressional building.

Milei views these modifications to Argentina’s five-decade-old employment laws as essential for attracting international investment, enhancing worker productivity and generating new employment opportunities in a nation where approximately 40 percent of the workforce operates without official documentation.

Labor representatives contend the legislation will undermine worker safeguards that have been fundamental to Argentina since Peronism, the nation’s influential populist movement, emerged in the 1940s.

The judicial system will now determine whether to accept or reject the CGT’s legal challenge, a ruling that might lead to a temporary halt of the reforms while judges deliberate on a final decision.