ARGENTINA HAS NEW LABOR LAW

ARGENTINA • NATIONAL POLICY • MARCH 6, 2026

— LABOR REFORM • LAW NO. 27,802 —

⚖️ ARGENTINA HAS NEW LABOR LAW

Milei enacted Decree 137/2026 and puts into effect the most profound reform of the labor market in three decades. The CGT reacted immediately with a judicial injunction.

⏱ Reading time: approx. 8 minutes • 🗓️ March 6, 2026 • 📰 Sources: Infobae, La Nación, Ámbito , Perfil, TN

A few hours before dawn on Friday, March 6, when most Argentines were still asleep, the Official Gazette published Decree 137/2026: the enactment of Law No. 27,802, called the Labor Modernization Law. With the signatures of President Javier Milei, Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni and Human Capital Minister Sandra Pettovello, the government consummated what it considers its biggest legislative victory since arriving at the Casa Rosada. In less than twelve hours, the trade union world responded with its own weapons: a judicial injunction.

The history of this law began months before its publication. The Executive Branch sent the bill to Congress during the extraordinary sessions convened by President Milei, within the framework of a legislative agenda of the highest priority for the Government. The Chamber of Senators granted half sanction on February 12, but the rule returned to the floor after Deputies eliminated Article 44 of the original text – referring to medical leaves – one of the most sensitive points of the debate.

On February 27, the Senate gave final approval with 42 affirmative votes, 28 negative and 2 abstentions. Exactly a week later, in the early hours of Friday morning, the Executive completed the cycle with the enactment. According to the text of the decree: "In use of the powers conferred by Article 78 of the National Constitution, Law No. 27,802 sanctioned by the Honorable Congress of the Nation in its session of February 27, 2026 is promulgated."

For the ruling party, the law represents the end of a cycle: the end of a labor model that they consider obsolete, litigious and discourages investment. For the unions and part of the opposition, on the other hand, it is a historic setback in the rights acquired by workers.

The law introduces profound modifications in several pillars of Argentine labor law. Here are the central points:

1. Severance payments

The calculation of compensation for dismissal without cause will no longer include the Christmas bonus, vacations or awards: only the monthly, normal and customary remuneration will be considered. In addition, compensation becomes the only economic compensation for the dismissal. The update of labor credits will be calculated by CPI plus 3% per year.

2. Employment Assistance Fund (FAL)

A fund financed with monthly contributions from employers is created: 1% for large companies and 2.5% for SMEs. Its purpose is to cover the costs of dismissal. It will come into force on June 1, 2026 and will only respond after receiving at least six monthly contributions. It will not apply to unregistered workers.

3. Unregistered employment: end of fines

The penalties of Law 24.013 are eliminated for cases of undeclared employment or deficient registration. Instead, an incentive scheme is implemented: employers who regularize workers will not pay fines, although they will have to pay salary and social security differences. The Program for the Promotion of Registered Employment provides for the forgiveness of up to 70% of contribution debts.

4. Right to strike: restriction on essential services

In activities declared an "essential service" – health, drinking water, telecommunications, aeronautics, port control – 75% of the personnel on active duty must be guaranteed during industrial action. In "transcendental" services, the floor is 50%. Active participation in blockades or occupations of establishments is established as grounds for dismissal with just cause.

5. Collective bargaining and trade unions

Collective agreements of a larger scope may not modify the content of agreements of a lesser scope, decentralizing negotiation and reducing the weight of national unions. Automatic ultra-activity is eliminated: expired agreements will no longer be in force indefinitely, forcing a new negotiation from scratch. Employers may no longer act as agents for withholding union dues without the express authorization of the worker.

6. Digital platforms and freelancers

The law explicitly incorporates "independent workers and their collaborators" and "independent providers of technological platforms" among those excluded from the regime of the Employment Contract Law, clarifying that this relationship does not imply subordination or labor dependence.

Just hours after the publication in the Official Gazette, the General Confederation of Labor (CGT) filed an action for judicial protection. The presentation, signed by the leadership triumvirate made up of Octavio Argüello, Jorge Solá and Cristían Jerónimo, was drawn to the Federal Administrative Court No. 7, in charge of Judge Enrique Lavié Pico.

The amparo does not attack the entire reform. In a strategic move, the labor federation concentrated its first proposal exclusively on articles 90 and 91 of the law, which regulate the transfer of the national labor jurisdiction to the orbit of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires (CABA). The CGT requested a precautionary measure of "not innovating" that immediately suspends the operation of these articles.

According to the argument of the labor federation, the transfer of labor jurisdiction to the City violates current constitutional requirements for this type of transfer – a warning that had even been made public by Vice President Victoria Villarruel during the parliamentary debate. In addition, the transfer agreement was enabled by Decree 95/2026, which authorized the Chief of Cabinet Manuel Adorni to sign it without the intervention of the Bicameral Commission.

For the CGT, the operational background is also critical: the closure of 30 courts of first instance and Chamber VII of the National Chamber of Labor Appeals (CNAT) would affect thousands of cases in process and would generate uncertainty about the labor and pension situation of employees and judicial officials.

The first amparo is not the only front. The CGT has already announced that it will present a second precautionary measure in the labor jurisdiction and will promote individual actions by different unions. The choice of the contentious jurisdiction for the first amparo – instead of the labor one – responds to a strategic calculation: the legal team of the CGT, advised by constitutionalists such as Alberto García Lema, issues that the national labor courts can act with caution in the face of the prospect of being under the Buenos Aires orbit.

The CGT maintains that the reform violates Article 14 bis of the National Constitution in its fundamental rights: protection against arbitrary dismissal, the right to strike, collective bargaining, freedom of association and social security. The union also invokes the principle of progressivity and the principle of protection of labor law, supported by the Pact of San José de Costa Rica.

The closest precedent dates from the end of 2023, when labor judge Liliana Rodríguez Fernández declared the invalidity of six articles of DNU 70/2023. However, there is a substantial difference: in that case it was a decree of necessity and urgency; now it is a law sanctioned by Congress, which gives it greater institutional weight and complicates the judicial scenario for challengers.

Far from being surprised, the Executive was waiting for the judicial reaction. Weeks before the enactment, the Casa Rosada already had outlined a legal team to defend the law in court. The new Attorney General of the National Treasury, Sebastián Amerio – appointed on the same day of the enactment – will be in charge of representing the State in the cases.

The government plans to appeal in all possible instances and even anticipates that the dispute will reach the Supreme Court in the medium term. The new Minister of Justice, Juan Bautista Mahiques, remarked that the labor reform is "an issue of special priority for the President" and that the legal process will be defended with full institutional convocation.

Balcarce 50 argues that the CGT would not have active legitimacy to question institutional aspects of the redesign of the labor judicial system, and that the precedents of the Supreme Court endorse previous reorganizations of the labor jurisdiction in CABA. In addition, they point out that, unlike DNU 70/2023, the new rule enjoys the support of the parliamentary vote.

The reactions were not limited to the union level. The Association of Magistrates and Officials of the National Justice (AMFJN) expressed formal objections about the way in which the law was treated in Congress, especially with respect to the transfer of jurisdiction. From the government of Jorge Macri in the City, on the other hand, they expressed their intention that the transition of the labor jurisdiction be carried out in an orderly manner.

On the academic level, labor lawyer Lucas Battiston summarized the paradox of the law: the so-called Labor Modernization Law tries to regulate the work of the 21st century with conceptual categories typical of the 20th century. For specialists in the technology sector, such as SkyOnline CEO Rafael Ibáñez, the integration of artificial intelligence into the workplace will require more ambitious regulatory frameworks than those now enacted.

📋 KEYS TO THE CONFLICT

"The dispute does not end in the Official Gazette. It is just beginning in the courts. The battle for the future of Argentine work will be fought, once again, in the corridors of the Courts."

— Special wording • March 7, 2026

⚖️ LAW 27.802 — ARGENTINE LABOR REFORM • Decree 137/2026 • Sources: Infobae, La Nación, Scope, Profile, Conclusion

Close