Argentine workers mark May Day with protests over Milei's labor-law overhaul

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BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (AP) — Argentine workers protested in the capital of Buenos Aires on Thursday, as annual May Day demonstrations in the South American nation coincided with smoldering anger over President Javier Milei's recent overhaul of long-robust labor protections.

The General Confederation of Labor, or CGT, Argentina’s largest union group, called the march to “defend decent employment” against Milei’s changes to the labor code, which since 1974 had guaranteed generous protections and rights for Argentine workers but also meant high business costs that scared off foreign investors.

Past presidents for decades tried to liberalize the labor market but failed in the face of fierce resistance from Argentina's powerful unions. Despite weeks of protests and a nationwide strike, Milei pushed through the labor-law package in February in a major victory for his free-market agenda.

Milei’s opponents are clinging to an appeal process challenging the law’s constitutionality. Union leaders plan to file a further petition after a court last week overturned an injunction that had suspended the law’s implementation at their request. The case is expected to go to the Supreme Court.

The labor overhaul has struck a nerve in a nation where workers’ unions helped found the left-leaning Peronist movement that dominated politics here since the 1940s. It also comes as Milei’s flagship drive to eliminate inflation has stalled and unemployment has ticked up.

“Social discontent is being felt everywhere, and not only due to the drop in consumption,” Jorge Sola, one of the CGT leaders told local radio ahead of Thursday’s march. “It is due to family debt, job losses and worse working conditions than what we had before.”

Under the new law, companies can now increase workdays to 12 hours up from eight, extend employee probation periods and dismiss workers more easily.

The legislation also curtails workers’ right to strike and limits courts’ discretion on severance payouts, which critics say long ensnared employers in costly lawsuits and discouraged formal hiring. Nearly half of all Argentines work off the books.

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