An appeals court in Argentina declared invalid this Tuesday the labor reform included by the Argentine president, Javier Milei, in a decree of necessity and urgency that he signed in December, a few days after starting his Government, and which is rejected by the unions.
The National Chamber of Labor Appeals declared the “constitutional invalidity” of the articles referring to labor issues within the decree of necessity and urgency (DNU) signed by Milei on December 20, ten days after assuming the Presidency.
In the ruling, to which EFE had access, the court considered that these articles are contrary to the provisions of the national Constitution of Argentina regarding the powers of the Executive to issue decrees.
However, the court clarified that the articles on labor matters within the decree will enjoy formal validity in the event that the Argentine Parliament ratifies them within the period of the extraordinary sessions in progress, “or their validity will cease by operation of law otherwise.” “.
The judicial decision responds to an appeal for protection against the reform presented by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the largest labor union in the country, which held a general strike on January 24 and whose leaders are mainly active in the opposition Peronism.
Regarding labor, the decree includes changes in labor trials, the extension of trial periods in companies and the reduction of pregnancy leaves, among other measures.
In addition, the labor reform also includes a reduction in retirement contributions, compensation, and fines for poor worker registration.
This is a new setback for the Argentine president on the eve of the debate in Congress of the law Bases and Starting Points for the Freedom of Argentines, known as the ‘omnibus law’, the star project of the Executive, which has been reduced to just over 300 articles of the initial 664 after conversations with political blocs in search of support.
