Argentina: Unions mobilize against regressive labour reform

The Argentinian labour movement is mobilizing nationwide in response to a deeply regressive labour reform promoted by President Javier Milei's government. After passing the Senate on February 11, 2026, the bill now moves to the Chamber of Deputies, prompting further protests and strong condemnation from unions both in Argentina and abroad.

"This is a reform tailored to employers and to the detriment of workers," said Gerardo Iglesias, Regional Secretary of IUF's Latin American regional organization, Rel UITA. "Among its most serious aspects are the creation of a so-called `hours bank,' which would replace the traditional overtime system with a compensation scheme; the introduction of flexible wage payment methods, including in-kind payments or modifications to wage structures; limits on the right to strike; extreme flexibility in hiring arrangements; the fragmentation of annual leave; and the possibility of extending the working day to up to 12 consecutive hours."

The IUF-affiliated Unión Argentina de Trabajadores Rurales y Estibadores (UATRE) has described the reform as "enslaving," warning that government rhetoric about "modernization" masks a rollback of hard-won rights for the working class. Members of UATRE, the IUF-affiliated Federación de Trabajadores de la Industria de Alimentación (FTIA), and other unions affiliated with the Confederación General del Trabajo (CGT), have mobilised across Córdoba, Buenos Aires, and other cities in mass marches and demonstrations in the fight to defend Argentina's labour protections.

Rel UITA has expressed full solidarity with Argentinian workers, describing the reform as a "decades-long setback for labour rights" that threatens wages, job stability, and collective bargaining power. Solidarity has also come from Brazil, where IUF affiliates Confederação Nacional dos Trabalhadores nas Indústrias de Alimentação e Afins (CNTA Afins), Confederação Brasileira Democrática dos Trabalhadores nas Indústrias da Alimentação (CONTAC), and Federação dos Trabalhadores nas Indústrias da Alimentação do Estado de São Paulo (FETIASP) warned that similar deregulation in Brazil has eroded workers' rights and weakened unions' collective bargaining power and ability to act by economically suffocating them-underscoring the critical importance of transnational labour solidarity.

Protest actions in Córdoba and other cities across Argentina illustrate the widespread opposition to this reform with unions emphasizing that it threatens the democratic and constitutional foundations of Argentina's labour system. The reform will also deepen deregulation at a time of economic pressure, undermining workers' fundamental rights, job security, wages, and collective power.

As the bill advances, unions are coordinating mobilization and action plans to resist what they describe as a structural dismantling of labour protections. IUF Acting General Secretary Kristjan Bragason stated, "The IUF-together with its Latin American regional organization-expresses its unwavering support for Argentinian workers and their unions: the defence of decent work, collective bargaining, and freedom of association knows no borders. An injury to one is an injury to all."