Court puts the brakes on Milei in Argentina
Argentina's new president has suffered a setback in his radical restructuring program. An appeals court has halted his plans to restrict workers' rights for the time being. The country's largest trade union had filed a lawsuit.
An Argentinian court has suspended a reform of the labor law of the new president Javier Milei. The judges froze labor law regulations in a decree issued by Milei that, among other things, extends the probationary period, cuts certain compensation and reduces maternity protection. The court ruled that the measures were so numerous and serious that they could not be passed by Congress. It is a first setback for the libertarian right-wing populist.
Judge Alejandro Sudera questioned the "necessity" and "urgency" of the decree and suspended the measures pending a review by parliament, according to the ruling published by the Telam news agency. Some of the measures appeared to have a "repressive or punitive character".
According to the Attorney General, the government intends to appeal. The country's main trade union federation had challenged the measures, which came into force last Friday. It argued that basic employee protection rights such as the right to strike and parental leave were being undermined.
Milei, who was elected in November, promised the heavily indebted country "shock therapy" when he took office on December 10 and a few days later issued a decree amending or abolishing more than 300 existing laws. Thousands of people took to the streets last week to protest against the reforms. Latin America's third-largest economy is in the midst of a severe economic crisis. Inflation has risen to more than 160 percent and more than 40 percent of the population live in poverty.
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The Argentinian court's ruling on the labor law reform echoes broader questions about justice, as some consider the measures to have a repressive character. The halt on the president's labor law reform adds another layer to the ongoing debate around labor law in Argentina.
Source: www.ntv.de
