Buenos Aires, February 10 (NA) – The last-minute amendment to the Labor Modernization Bill, which will be debated in the Senate, has sparked a strong reaction from business sectors. They allege that the change grants impunity and a double guarantee for certain organizations to continue raising millions in funds without any public accountability or transparency.
The controversy revolves around Article 128, which amends Law 14.250. It establishes that, as of January 1, 2028, solidarity quotas (the money that unions deduct from non-members) will no longer be mandatory, reported the Argentine News Agency. From that date, no worker may suffer union dues without their explicit and individual consent.
Furthermore, it caps employer contributions to business chambers and unions at 0.5% and 2%, respectively.
"A conflict of interests is evident: both the Argentine Chamber of Commerce (CAC) and the Argentine Confederation of Medium Enterprises (CAME) participate in the bipartite table, and at the same time, they are beneficiaries of the administration of the mandatory contributions negotiated there through the Argentine Institute of Professional and Technological Training for Commerce (INACAP), affecting all employers who have workers under the scope of the commercial agreement," Cadam emphasizes in a statement.
It explains that due to the mandatory contribution to the Argentine Institute of Professional Training (INACAP), the employer must integrate the equivalent of 0.5% of the salary of the 'Maestranza A' category, for the 1.2 million workers estimated to be part of Commerce. And that these funds are largely redistributed between the CAC and CAME, under the argument of training and institutional strengthening, which, it denounces, implies that with every salary increase, these entities 'self-benefit' with increased revenue, while being central actors in the negotiation.
It recalls that for this reason, the Minister of Deregulation and State Transformation, Federico Sturzenegger, through Decree 149/2025, established the voluntary nature of these contributions.
In the framework of that judicial case, INACAP recognized that it collects more than $30,000 billion annually, without detailing how much is effectively allocated to training, how much to the maintenance of business chambers, or for political purposes, per diems, or trips of business leaders.
"Entities of dubious representativeness"
Cadam insists that, despite several warnings presented to the Executive, it has not been possible to traceability of these funds, and there are entities of dubious real representation. Among them, leaders of the Federal Confederation of SMEs of the Argentine Republic, the Republic of Argentina Kiosk Owners' Union, the Victoria Commercial Center (Entre Ríos), the Mendoza Economic Federation, and the Argentine Perfumery Chamber, among others, have severely questioned the administration and destination of these resources," it adds.
From the sanction of this Law, the special contributions or fees provided for in the Collective Labor Agreements, whatever their denomination or purpose, in favor of trade unions, may not exceed 2% of the workers' remunerations.
As of January 1, 2028, the special employer contributions or fees provided for in the Collective Labor Agreements, whatever their denomination or purpose, for the direct or indirect benefit of chambers, associations, groups, or legal entities partially or totally integrated by employers or whose governing bodies are made up of employer representatives, will have a strictly voluntary character on the part of the employer, without its mandatory nature being able to be imposed through conventional clauses.
Neither will they be mandatory for employers who are not members or associates of the associations or chambers beneficiaries of these contributions.
"There are chambers that represent streets or avenues, women, young people, and even ethnic-cultural groups. That is why numerous business entities have been presenting their complaints to the National Congress since last year.
