Buenos Aires, Argentina \u2013<\/strong> After a marathon 12-hour session, Argentina\u2019s lower house of Congress narrowly approved a controversial labour reform bill, in what is shaping up to be a significant win for President Javier Milei.<\/p>\n The vote came in the early hours of Friday after a national strike in protest against the bill caused widespread factory and business closures.<\/p>\n list of 3 items<\/span>end of list<\/span><\/section>\n \u201cWe have taken another step on the path to making Argentina great again,\u201d Gabriel Bornoroni, a lawmaker in Milei\u2019s party, La Libertad Avanza, wrote<\/a> online after the vote.<\/p>\n The bill<\/a> lays out new rules to govern relations between workers and employers. It is expected to become law before the end of the month, after the Senate reviews modifications to the version it first passed last week.<\/p>\n Members of La Libertad Avanza say the legislation will modernise the labour market by making it easier for companies to hire and fire workers, including through limits on severance pay and collective bargaining.<\/p>\n It also allows employers to extend the workday from 8 to 12 hours, creates a \u201ctime bank\u201d to replace paid overtime and reduces the amount of uninterrupted holiday a worker can take, among other provisions.<\/p>\n Supporters argue<\/a> the changes are essential to boost productivity, attract foreign investment and limit labour lawsuits.<\/p>\n They have also praised provisions that offer new tax incentives for hiring and pathways to legally register Argentina\u2019s large population of informal workers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have labour modernisation. Javier Milei gives answers to the millions of Argentines who are currently in the informal economy,\u201d Bornoroni posted on social media after the vote.<\/p>\n Since the bill was first drafted, business leaders have been divided over its potential effectiveness.<\/p>\n Some warned that its provisions, including those affecting collective bargaining and contract stability, could generate feelings of uncertainty among employees.<\/p>\n Others questioned how much it would boost hiring. Ricardo Diab, president of the Argentinian Confederation of Medium-Sized Enterprises (CAME), said in an interview with Cadena 3 that a law alone is not enough to create jobs.<\/p>\n \u201cTo hire [people], I need to have a need, and for there to be a need, there must be production and consumption,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, opposition politicians and trade unionists argue that the law will strip workers of their basic rights.<\/p>\n \u201cWorkers were already under pressure, and this just delivers another heavy hit, leaving them with very little room to negotiate anything,\u201d Roxana Monzon, a national deputy for the opposition party Union por la Patria, told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n \u201cIt means job insecurity for workers, and it will affect the most vulnerable even more.\u201d<\/p>\n She pointed to the \u201ctime bank\u201d as an example of the bill\u2019s problematic proposals.<\/p>\n Instead of mandating paid overtime, the legislation would allow employers to compensate workers with time off later on, subject to the company\u2019s approval.<\/p>\n That system, Monzon explained, is ripe for exploitation, since some workers rely on overtime to pay the bills.<\/p>\n \u201cThe hour bank, for example, will affect women in particular, as employers can decide what hours they must work, regardless of other responsibilities they have, such as caring,\u201d Monzon said.<\/p>\n As members of Argentina\u2019s Chamber of Deputies debated the bill on Thursday, thousands of people protested outside Congress in solidarity with a nationwide strike organised by the country\u2019s main unions.<\/p>\n Gabriela Quiroz, a 31-year-old primary school teacher from Villa Soldati, near Buenos Aires, said she already works two jobs to make ends meet. She described the bill as an \u201cabysmal step backwards\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m very concerned and anxious about what could happen. As a teacher, I do many extra hours, and now they won\u2019t be paid in cash,\u201d Quiroz said. \u201cI barely make it to the end of the month as it is, and there are many people like me.\u201d<\/p>\n She added that slashing overtime pay could have wider impacts on Argentina\u2019s economy, with consumers spending less.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen people don\u2019t have money, everybody is affected,\u201d she said. \u201cIf I don\u2019t have money to spend, I don\u2019t shop in my local shops, so they start to struggle. It\u2019s a vicious circle.\u201d<\/p>\n Quiroz was among the thousands of people who made their way to Congress, undeterred by the heat and the lack of public transport, one of the services disrupted by the strike.<\/p>\n The general strike also left airports empty, as hundreds of flights were cancelled. Factories and banks also shuttered for the day, and hospitals only provided emergency services.<\/p>\n As demonstrations in Buenos Aires drew to a close in the evening, security forces used water cannon, tear gas and rubber bullets against the protesters, a violent response that has become increasingly common.<\/p>\n The labour market has become a central concern in Argentina, amid a deep economic recession. The bill tries to tackle the issue from several angles.<\/p>\n Think tanks like the Argentina Institute of Fiscal Analysis have reported that the companies face high costs in hiring new workers, and as many as 40 percent of Argentina\u2019s workers work in the informal sector, without job protections.<\/p>\n The bill offers incentives to address those issues. But analysts say what is needed is a broader look at the country\u2019s economy.<\/p>\n While economic activity in Argentina has increased overall, that growth has been uneven. While sectors such as banking and agriculture have improved, manufacturing and commerce have experienced sharp declines in recent years.<\/p>\nRecommended Stories <\/h2>\n
![\"Police](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PH-Patricio-A.-Cabezas-\u2013-View-of-the-National-Congress-of-Argentina-after-the-repression-of-the-march-against-the-Labor-Reform-08-1771611706.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C616&quality=80\")
Anxiety among workers<\/h2>\n
![\"Gabriela](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PH-Josefina-Salomon-Gabriela-Quiroz-with-sign-is-the-first-formally-employed-woman-in-her-family-at-the-march-against-the-Labor-Reform-1771610980.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C616&quality=80\")
Thousands of businesses closed<\/h2>\n
![\"Young](\"https:\/\/www.aljazeera.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/PH-Patricio-A.-Cabezas-\u2013-Young-people-going-to-the-march-against-the-Labor-Reform-1771611767.jpg?w=770&resize=770%2C616&quality=80\")