MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

No general strike yet against Milei's decree, labor leaders announce

“We have to demand that the decree be rolled back,” said CGT leader Héctor Daer

Argentina's General Labor Confederation (CGT) announced a demonstration to be staged next Wednesday before the main Courthouse in Buenos Aires to protest against President Javier Milei's reforms through an emergency decree earlier this week.

“For now a strike is not planned, but the Confederal will fully analyze the start of a national fight plan,” the CGT leaders said after some 50 of them gathered Thursday to review the ongoing crisis. They also said a decision on whether to stage a nationwide general strike was to be made next Thursday. It would be the first since May 29, 2019, when the fifth such measure was taken against then-President Mauricio Macri.

The labor leaders insisted Thursday that Milei's decree was “unconstitutional” and that it violated “the rights of workers” by introducing changes to severance money payments and trial periods, among other modifications.

”We have to demand that the decree be rolled back,” said CGT leader Héctor Daer.

Milei's decree also provides for each worker to choose directly their healthcare provider instead of doing so through the unions which kept a percentage of the monthly fees in the process. Hence, the unions' coffers would be severely affected by the norm.

Also Thursday, the Asociación Civil Observatorio del Derecho a la Ciudad NGO requested an injunction before the Federal Administrative Litigation jurisdiction for Milei's decree to be ruled unconstitutional, it was reported in Buenos Aires.

The case was handed over to Federal Administrative Litigation Court Number 2 under Justice Esteban Furnari, which would likely draw every subsequent filing in the same regard.

Meanwhile, opposition lawmakers are confident they will be able to overturn Milei's all-encompassing measure when it reaches the Bicameral Commission, a body of Deputies and Senators created by the Constitution to review all presidential emergency decrees.