Unions rally in Buenos Aires against Milei ahead of Labour Day celebrations

Several thousand people, summoned by Argentina’s main trade union federation, marched Thursday in Buenos Aires on the eve of May Day, protesting against the labour reform promoted by Javier Milei’s government.

The Confederación General del Trabajo (General Confederation of Labour, or CGT) organised the demonstration that focused on the central Plaza de Mayo in the capital. The protest was marked by opposition to President Javier Milei's government and its recently approved Labour Modernisation Law.

Approved in February, the legislation reduces redundancy payments, extends the working day to up to 12 hours without overtime pay, allows payment in kind and limits the right to strike, among other measures.

Oscar Marín, a 60-year-old refuse collection worker, said that under the law “workers’ rights, as they previously stood, have effectively been abolished.”

Since Milei took office in December 2023, more than 22,000 businesses have closed and around 300,000 jobs have been lost, partly due to falling consumption caused by declining purchasing power, and partly due to increased imports.

Inflation, which Milei has sharply reduced since taking office, has been rising slowly for 11 consecutive months.

“This is a government that effectively carries the word ‘destruction’ as its banner,” said Jorge Sola, a CGT leader, speaking from a stage at the Plaza de Mayo.

Milei maintains that the labour reform will boost employment, private investment, and formal work in a country where 43 percent of employment is informal.

– TIMES/AFP