Argentina’s Chamber of Deputies approved a major labor reform bill in the early hours of Friday, February 20, 2026, delivering a significant legislative victory for President Javier Milei and advancing one of the core pillars of his economic deregulation agenda.
The bill passed with 135 votes in favor and 115 against after more than 20 hours of intense debate and an article-by-article vote. Because deputies introduced numerous modifications during the session, the legislation must now return to the Senate for final approval before it can be sent to the president for enactment.
The vote took place under heavy security and amid widespread disruption across the country. The General Confederation of Labor (CGT)—Argentina’s largest trade union federation—had called a 24-hour nationwide strike in protest, paralyzing public transport, schools, banks, and many private-sector operations. Left-wing groups and social movements organized a large protest march toward Congress, where clashes with riot police were reported near the legislative building. Local media outlets, including Todo Noticias and Clarín, reported several detentions and injuries during scuffles outside the Congress perimeter.
House Speaker Martín Menem, a key ally of President Milei, hailed the outcome as “historic.” In a post on social media immediately after the vote, he wrote: “This is not just another law. Argentina begins to close a wound that had been open for decades.” He described the reform as a long-overdue modernization of the labor framework, arguing that the existing system had discouraged formal hiring, pushed millions into informal employment, and turned stable jobs into a privilege reserved for a minority.
“For years, every attempt at reform ran into the same interests that preferred to preserve their privileges rather than create jobs,” Menem added.
The legislation forms a central component of Milei’s broader economic shock therapy, which seeks to deregulate markets, reduce state intervention, lower taxes, and stimulate private-sector job creation. Key provisions reportedly include:
- Greater flexibility in hiring and firing practices
- Reduced employer contributions to social security and severance obligations
- Simplified procedures for establishing new businesses and labor contracts
- Incentives for formalizing informal workers
- Changes to collective bargaining rules intended to weaken union veto power in certain sectors
Senior government officials attended the session in force, including Presidential Secretary General Karina Milei (the president’s sister), Cabinet Chief Manuel Adorni, Interior Minister Diego Santilli, and presidential adviser Eduardo “Lule” Menem (the speaker’s relative).
Opposition lawmakers mounted fierce resistance, accusing the government of launching an assault on workers’ rights. Victoria Tolosa Paz, a prominent deputy from the Peronist bloc Unión por la Patria, described the bill as “regressive” and warned it would harm industry, production, and ordinary workers. “It goes against industry, production and workers, and it has a savage bias against labor,” she told broadcaster Todo Noticias during the debate.
The CGT and allied organizations framed the strike and protests as a defense of labor rights against what they called “savage neoliberalism.” Union leaders vowed to continue mobilizing if the Senate approves the revised bill.
The Senate—where Milei’s La Libertad Avanza party and allied blocs hold a narrower majority—now holds the decisive vote. Analysts expect intense negotiations and possible further amendments before a final decision, which could take weeks or months given the chamber’s slower pace and the presence of moderate provincial governors who may seek concessions.
The labor reform follows Milei’s earlier successes in passing the sweeping “Ley Bases” omnibus bill in 2024 and subsequent deregulation decrees. The government argues that rigid labor laws are a major barrier to economic recovery, job creation, and attracting investment in a country that has suffered chronic stagnation, triple-digit inflation (now moderating), and high poverty levels.
Critics, including the Peronist opposition, human rights organizations, and international labor bodies, warn that the changes could erode worker protections, increase precarious employment, and widen inequality.
As the bill heads to the Senate, Argentina remains deeply polarized over Milei’s radical economic experiment. Thursday’s marathon session and nationwide strike underscored the high political and social stakes surrounding the labor reform debate.
