CGT Categorically Rejects Milei's Labor Reform

CGT leader Octavio Arguello stated on Thursday that the confederation is categorically rejecting the 'concessionary' labor reform promoted by the government of Javier Milei. He made the statement during the march the organization held in Plaza de Mayo, warning senators: 'Beware of what you do, because the people and the nation will hold you accountable.' 'It is a lie that more jobs are created by taking away rights and increasing working hours,' he warned. 'If you keep ignoring us, you will face the deepening of this plan: we will end up with a nationwide strike,' he insisted. The Argentine News Agency reported that the 'full Board of Directors' was present at the event, so there were no absences from the leadership. After the event, a series of incidents were recorded in the vicinity of Plaza de Mayo, where protesters and police officers clashed due to the security forces' intention to ensure compliance with the anti-picket protocol. The march included leaders from Peronism, such as the governor of Buenos Aires Province, Axel Kicillof; senators José Mayans and Jorge Capitanich; deputy Juan Grabois; and union leaders like Hugo Moyano (Truckers), Héctor Daer (Healthcare), and Andrés Rodríguez (UPCN), among others, as well as the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo. Other worker organizations also participated, such as the two factions of the CTA, UTEP, and left-wing groups like the Corriente Clasista y Combativa (CCC). Arguello called on supporters to 'win the street' and 'fight for the rights of workers and their families.' He warned that if there are no responses, the CGT's claim will advance with a plan of action that will culminate in a 'national strike,' which generated applause among the protesters. In turn, co-secretary Cristian Jerónimo pointed out that the confederation opposes the labor reform 'because it generates nothing in favor of the world of work.' 'It does not favor small and medium-sized enterprises,' he insisted. 'The CGT will not take a step back, that is marked by our history,' he added. Meanwhile, co-secretary general Jorge Sola stated that the labor reform project has 'more than 50 years' and was also promoted by 'the military' in the '70s and returned 'recharged in the '90s,' to end in '2001.' 'We do not want fewer rights: we want more work, more dignity, and higher wages,' Sola defined, questioning the fund for labor dismissals, conceived, he said, to make 'firing easier.' He also reproached that the labor reform seeks to 'limit union power,' in reference to legislation on the right to protest for unions. In addition, he questioned the Government for 'attacking with the Budget project Disability, the pediatric emergency law, the maintenance of the Garrahan Hospital and education.' 'For there to be workers in the black, what there is first is a black economy, and this Government came to deepen more and more poverty in Argentina,' denounced Sola. 'This is the beginning of a plan of struggle.'