ATE denounces government to ILO over labor reform: 'It was against the workers'

Argentina's Association of State Workers (ATE) has filed a complaint against the national government with the International Labour Organization (ILO), accusing it of violating workers' rights and pushing a regressive labor reform. Rodolfo Aguiar, the general secretary of ATE, presented the complaint in Geneva during the 114th International Labour Conference, stating that the government of President Javier Milei has been "shamed before the world" and is facing global criticism for its policies.

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the entire planet now knows the resounding failure of his government. He went from a neighborhood phenomenon to a global shame.

Aguiar asserted that Argentina is in violation of numerous ILO conventions ratified by the country. He criticized the government for failing to consult with all social actors and for attempting to impose a labor reform against the explicit will of the workers. "The world must know that in Argentina, those who deify freedom are the same ones who repress and criminalize social and union protests, and who prosecute and imprison union leaders," Aguiar declared.

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The Government does not comply with its obligation to consult with all social actors and intends to impose an absolutely regressive labor reform against the express will of the workers.

This action follows similar complaints lodged by other major Argentine labor confederations, including the CGT and the two CTA, the previous week. Jorge Sola, representing the CGT's leadership, addressed the ILO, denouncing "serious breaches of international labor standards" by the Milei administration. Sola described the situation not as a dispute over technicalities but as a formal denunciation of the systematic dismantling of a democratic model for labor governance that took decades to build.

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The whole world must know that in Argentina, those who deify freedom are the same ones who repress and criminalize social and union protests, and who prosecute and imprison union leaders.

ATE has been actively opposing the government's labor policies through various protests and legal battles. The union has previously succeeded in halting attempts to dismantle agricultural and industrial technology organizations like INTA and INTI. The complaint to the ILO aims to bring international attention to the government's labor practices and their impact on workers' rights in Argentina.

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this is the formal denunciation of the systematic dismantling of a democratic model of labor governance that took us decades to build and that the current National Government is demolishing since December 2023.