Senate debates labor reform following widespread LLA negotiations

Senators are debating the governments labor reform bill in a session that began on Wednesday at 11 a.m.  The session is scheduled to last until early Thursday, as a slew of lawmakers have signed up to speak amid heavy scrutiny, with unions protesting and major business sectors largely backing the initiative. The bill under debate suffered numerous changes compared to the one approved in commission in December, as ruling party La Libertad Avanza (LLA) agreed to introduce modifications based on negotiations with the opposition, unions, business leaders and governors in order to gain support. In a press conference on Tuesday, Patricia Bullrich, LLA bloc head in the upper house, announced that LLA and ally parties PRO and Unin Cvica Radical (UCR) had an agreement to approve the bill. According to Bullrich, the bill currently has the backing of 44 out of 72 senators, well above the required simple majority to pass (37 votes). If approved, the bill would then be sent to the lower house. Numerous groups that oppose the reform have announced marches and rallies around Congress to protest the reform.  You may also be interested in: Mileis labor reform seems tailor-made for companies. Business leaders have doubts The labor reform bill The proposals stated intention is to reduce what it says are legal barriers that hinder job creation. Among other dispositions, the articles introduce more flexible working hours, changes to salaries and severance pay, as well as financial benefits for companies. One of the bills main goals is to discourage labor lawsuits and to simplify hiring in order to boost employment. This includes lowering taxes and financial controls for employers, while also granting additional benefits to those who formalize their employees. Other changes include a dynamic salary, meaning income would be tied to productivity. There is also an article aimed at creating a national fund to cover severance payments, meaning employers would no longer have to pay them in full themselves. It also introduces the concept of hours bank, which means employees could voluntarily agree to extend their shifts. Instead of receiving overtime payment, workers would be able to use the extra hours to shorten future shifts. Workers could work up to 12-hour-shifts under that system. In total, 28 changes were introduced to the bill after the negotiations.  The main modification was the elimination of an article that lowered the percentage of income tax companies had to pay, while using provincial resources to make up for the missing percentage.  We decided to postpone the debate on the income tax until we can build an integral fiscal reform bill, Bullrich said in the press conference. Other important changes were made after negotiations with Argentinas largest unions federation, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT, by its Spanish initials). The CGT was initially planning a general strike on Wednesday, but instead is carrying out a march. The changes introduced remove articles that would have reduced union power by taking away sources of funding, which are taken from the employees salaries through their employers. In addition, the changes made to the bill postpone the elimination of labor statutes of certain sectors, like the Journalist Statute, an instrument used since 1946 to protect the rights of press workers. If approved, the sector will have 180 days to incorporate the elements included in the statute into a labor agreement, known as convenio colectivo de trabajo. Articles that would eliminate the main sources of funding for the INCAA institute of arts and cinema and make it lose financial autonomy were modified, postponing the measure until 2028.