Argentina ranked among worst in the world for labor rights

The International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the world’s largest trade union federation, ranked Argentina among the worst countries for labor rights in a report released on Monday. According to the study, the country fell to the lowest category after experiencing a sharp decline across all indicators over the past two years under President Javier Milei, who rose to power in 2023. The 13th ITUC Global Rights Index report showed the country falling to category 5 after previously sitting at 3. According to the report, this decline is among the sharpest recorded by the agency in its global survey. Worse labor conditions Among the main issues highlighted are restrictions on social protest, interference in the internal affairs of labor unions, and anti-union dismissals. The document also warns of a general rollback of labor protections, particularly regarding the exercise of union representation and collective bargaining. Argentina is hardly the exception. On the global scale, the study highlights a broader trend of the erosion of labor and democratic rights, driven by authoritarian governments and sectors with high levels of economic concentration. In February, Congress approved Mileis labor reform bill, which entered into force in early March. The law created longer trial periods, reduced severance pay for laid-off employees, and introduced concepts such as dynamic salaries, which ties income to productivity. On Monday, the government formalized the regulatory framework for the reform. Among other things, it created a new fund aimed at assisting employers with complying with their laid-off workers severance pay. The new law includes several tax benefits for employers.The Milei government had already implemented labor reforms in previous years, some of which were suspended by the judiciary. Argentinas labor federations to file international complaints On Friday, the CGT and the two CTA branches, Argentinas largest labor federations, filed a complaint against Mileis labor reform with the International Labor Organization (ILO) ahead of the International Labor Conference, which began on Monday. Argentine labor federations have taken the report as a warning sign regarding the impact of President Mileis policies, arguing that they undermine institutional quality and workers rights. The complaint to the ILO will be supported by the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas and the ITUC itself, in an effort to bring the situation in Argentina to the forefront of the worlds leading global forum on labor issues.