By Nicolás Misculin
BUENOS AIRES, Dec 18 (Reuters) – Argentina’s main union federation led a massive demonstration on Thursday against a government labor reform bill that seeks, among other measures, to put limits on the right to strike and modify employee working hours and severance pay.
The protest, which paralyzed downtown Buenos Aires and was replicated in other cities across the country, aims to influence lawmakers who this week began discussing in Congress the bill proposed by right-wing libertarian President Javier Milei, who has framed it as a way to create more formal sector jobs and reduce bureaucracy.
The proposed bill seeks to give employers more leeway to divide working hours and vacations, as well as modify the system of severance pay to reduce costs for companies.
Unions have strongly opposed the bill, which also states that unions must receive authorization from employers to hold assemblies in the workplace and widens the list of labor sectors that must guarantee a certain level of operations during union strikes.
“We don’t want fewer rights, we want more work, more dignity,” said Jorge Sola, one of the leaders of the General Confederation of Labor, the country’s main union federation, during the protest.
Argentina’s oilseed workers this week also called for a 24-hour strike against the proposed labor reform.
The country’s newly elected Congress – in which Milei’s party has gained more seats after October’s midterm election – is beginning a period of special legislative sessions. Milei intends to push a series of reforms he has said are necessary to boost the country’s economy.
While it may undergo some changes in Congress, the labor reform – rejected by the center-left Peronist opposition – is expected to advance.
After a strong showing in the midterm legislative elections last October, the ruling party La Libertad Avanza became the largest minority in the lower house and gained a larger bloc in the Senate.
(Report by Nicolás Misculin; Writing by Leila Miller; Editing by Aurora Ellis)
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