The Argentine Court of Appeal invalidated the labor reform approved by Miley

An Argentine appeals court on Tuesday invalidated a labor reform included by President Javier Miley in a decree of necessity and urgency he signed in December, days after taking office, that had been rejected by unions.

The National Labor Appeals Chamber declared “constitutionally invalid” the labor clauses in the Decree of Necessity and Urgency (DNU) signed by Miley on December 20, 10 days after he took office as president.

In a decision cited by the Efe news agency, the court found that these articles contradicted the provisions of the Argentine national constitution regarding the powers of the executive branch to issue decrees.

However, the court clarified that the labor clauses in the decree will have formal force if the Argentine parliament ratifies them during the current extraordinary sessions, “or if their effect ceases completely by force of law.”

The court’s decision comes in response to a defense appeal against the reform brought by the General Confederation of Labor (CGT), the country’s largest union, which held a general strike on January 24 and whose leaders work largely in the Peronist opposition.

Regarding work, the decree includes, among other things, changes to labor decisions, extension of internship periods in companies and reduction of maternity leave.

In addition, labor reform also includes reductions in pension contributions, compensation and penalties for poor employee records.

This is a new setback for the Argentine president on the eve of debate in Congress on a law on the “foundations and starting points of the freedom of Argentines”, known as the “omnibus law”, promoted by the executive branch and which was reduced to just over 300 articles from the original 664 after conversations with political blocs in looking for support.