By Bill Hackwell on February 11, 2026 from Buenos Aires
foto: Pablo Cuarterolo, Buenos Aires Times
As the Argentine Senate debated a wholesale plan of labor reforms that would set back the gains of organized labor for years if passed, massive numbers of protestors gathered outside of the congress building in militant opposition.
teacher hit by rubber bullet being attended to. foto: Bill Hackwell
The reform, a pet project of Trump protégé President Javier Milei, is designed to make major revisions by deregulating of the labor market. According to the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) the changes would include measures that would make it easier to hire and fire workers. It would also limit the right to strike, reduce severance pay and restrict holiday rights. As if that isn’t enough it would make it easier for the bosses to tell a worker when they could take time off and return the normal work day allowed from 8 hours to 12. To put some perspective on this wholesale attack on the Argentine working class, the 8 hour work day was something fought for and won back in the 16th century.
Police Repression in the Streets
Protestors started to gather in the early morning and by the afternoon the plaza in front of the Congress was nearly full when police began to attack parts of the crowd with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets. The news outlet Pagina 12 reported that over 500 were injured and treated by medical teams and another 70 protestors were detained. One of the tactics of the police was to cordone off various streets as people were trying to leave the plaza creating even more confrontation.
foto: Bill Hackwell
Later it was announced that the bill had passed the senate and it will now head to the lower house of Chamber of Deputies for approval. Milei is pushing to get the bill pushed through by March 1. It is doubtful that the struggle to maintain these hard fought gains of the Argentine workers will diminish. Stay tuned.
Source: Resumen Latinoamericano – English