Government extends extraordinary sessions to guarantee labor reform approval

Updated Wednesday 5.20 p.m. The Argentine Lower House confirmed on Wednesday afternoon that deputies will convene on Thursday to debate President Javier Mileis signature labor reform.  The news comes after lower house commissions approved a final version of the piece of legislation, a required step for it to reach the chambers floor and be formally debated. The bill set to be debated, however, is different from the one approved last week in the senate. In a pitch to get allies on board, the government agreed to withdraw a controversial article that, in certain circumstances, limits an employee’s right to perceive a full salary during sick leave. This means that, even if approved on Thursday, the bill will have to return to the senate for final approval.  In order to do that, the government extended the extraordinary sessions period of Congress until February 28 via a decree published in the Official Gazette, extending for 24 hours the initially scheduled end for the previous day. Legislative norms were behind the move. According to lower house rules, all bills debated during extraordinary sessions require a commission green light 10 days before the period ends otherwise, it would have to be debated once the ordinary period starts. Wednesday was the last day for the commissions to approve a final version of the labor reform so it can be debated before February ends. If the extraordinary session period had not been extended, the government would not have had enough time to finish this. Changes to the labor reform bill Getting the labor reform approved is key for the government. If it passes, Milei will likely mention it as one of his administrations recent successes while speaking before Congress on March 1, one of the most important political speeches presidents give every year in Argentina. Following demands from opposition deputies, ruling party La Libertad Avanza (LLA) has agreed to remove an article from the labor reform bill that limited the right to receive a full salary during sick leave if the employee was not able to work due to an accident or disease unrelated to their jobs. If the lower house approves the bill on Thursday, it could return to the senate on Friday of next week, one day before the extraordinary sessions period ends. In that session, the government also intends for senators to give final approval to other bills that passed last week in the lower house: a provision aimed at lowering the age of criminal responsibility from 16 to 14 years old and the ratification of the Mercosur-European Union deal. In the decree extending the extraordinary sessions, the government added a bill intended to reform a public university funding law. The legislation, which had been passed by Congress last year, was vetoed by the president and later reinstated by lawmakers in October. Milei has rejected putting the university funding bill into effect on the grounds that it clashed with his zero fiscal deficit goal. The judiciary has ordered the administration to move forward with implementing it, but the government has appealed. Now, it sent to Congress a proposal to guarantee funding for the provision without endangering the countrys coffers.