The Government’s battle against the unions stopped. After an endless series of last-minute meetings, the ruling party and the dialogue opposition agreed on a new text of the “Bases Law” in which a limited “labor modernization”. Although many of the reforms that the President promoted in the chapter stopped by Justice of the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) 70/2023 are contemplated, the articles resisted by the unions were removed, including the so-called “union dues”.
This definition was taken in the prelude to the call to the plenary session of commissions that today will rule on the initiatives of the libertarian administration. The labor reform put a brake on the progress of the negotiations and the ruling party proposed submitting a counterproposal on this issue to try to bridge the differences. In short, he relented to avoid a new postponement and achieve half-sanction of the package of laws between Monday and Tuesday of next week.
At the beginning of April, the CGT leadership met at the Casa Rosada with the Minister of the Interior, Guillermo Francos; the chief of staff, Nicolas Posse; and the presidential advisor, Santiago Caputo. At that summit, labor reform was the backbone of the conversation, and to which the union triad gave its approval as long as it is a “light version.” Thats why he latest draft of the “Bases law” that the Government sent to the legislators, where the entire labor reform chapter was replicated, with few modifications, infuriated the unions.
Faced with this panorama, the deputy Miguel Ángel Pichetto, from Hacemos Coalión Federal, warned that he would not accompany the new version of the labor reform. “When you are surprised on a Sunday night by Mr. [Julio] CorderoSecretary of Labor, and they come with 60 articles (of the labor reform)… no, I’m not going to vote for that. That was never in the dialogue‘” he ranted in radio statements. According to her, she was able to know THE NATIONthe intention of the legislator, as well as part of his bloc, is to postpone the discussion with the unions once the sanction of the initiatives promoted by the Executive Branch has been achieved.
Radicalism, author of one of the most ambitious labor reform projects, told the Government that it would only vote on the new “Bases Law” if this chapter was incorporated into the text. They argued their insistence on the demand of the small and medium-sized business sector to make the contracting conditions provided for in the law more flexible. This block, with 34 members, is key to ensuring quorum and approval of the project in the venue.
The most important points excluded from the labor chapter are:
- Union dues. It is the article, also questioned by the CGT, that limited the compulsory discount to all workers (affiliated or not), of the so-called “union dues”. That is, a sum agreed upon in collective labor agreements that, historically, served to finance the coffers of the unions.
- Union blockades. The article that considered participation in union blockades or establishment takeovers as “just cause” for dismissal was removed. Instead, it was determined that this point be incorporated into the Penal Code, where it will be sought that a person who prevents another from entering a commercial or industrial establishment can be punished with six months to three years in prison.
- Ultraactivity. There will be no progress in the elimination of the labor principle that establishes that a collective bargaining agreement remains valid until it is replaced by another. Its dismantling would have implied that, if there was no agreement between the parties and employers, negotiations would be opened by branch of activity, reducing the interference of the unions.
- Fines. Economic sanctions for employers are removed for presenting unregistered workers. This measure seeks to avoid the “labor trial industry” which, according to the radical deputy Martin Tetaz during his intervention in the plenary session of commissions, “it did not work to incorporate workers into registered work.”
The reforms that remained in the labor chapter of the “Bases Law”:
- Trial period. Although the validity of six months is maintained for the generality, this trial period can be extended, although a longer period was contemplated for SMEs. It may be up to eight months in companies with six and up to one hundred workers; and up to one year in companies with up to five employees.
- Termination fund (Uocra style). This mechanism serves as an alternative to compensation and must be established through a collective bargaining agreement. The amount of the monthly contribution, which may not exceed 8% of the salary, is borne solely by the employer and will constitute a severance fund. The administrative process, meanwhile, must be regulated by the Ministry of Labor.
- Discrimination. A “compensatory aggravation” is stipulated for dismissals that, after a court ruling, prove that they were motivated by a discriminatory act.
- Registry simplification. Establishes a simplified labor registration regime with a single contribution for companies with up to 20 employees.