Argentina’s oilseed and maritime worker unions have launched a strike to protest a labor reform bill backed by President Javier Milei, as lawmakers in the country’s lower house of Congress began debating the measure on Monday.
The strike, called by the SOEA oilseed union and the United Maritime Workers Union (SOMU), is aimed at putting pressure on lawmakers as they consider Milei’s sweeping economic reform package, which includes privatizations, tighter fiscal policy, and changes to the tax system.
The oilseed union, which operates in the Rosario area that is home to most of Argentina’s soybean processing plants and ports, said the strike will continue while the congressional session lasts. The maritime union also called for demonstrations at Congress on Tuesday.
Argentina is one of the world’s main exporters of processed soybeans, and revenue from commodity exports is a major source of foreign currency needed to pay down debt and finance imports for the cash-strapped government amid a prolonged economic slide.
The unions are protesting Milei’s labor reform, which is part of the broader economic reform package being debated in Congress. The bills include provisions to lower the threshold for salaries subject to income tax, a move that has faced resistance from the unions.
Gustavo Idigoras, who heads Argentina’s oilseeds and grains exporters chamber, expressed concern about the strike, stating that the industry pays good salaries and the stoppage is “contradictory” to the workers’ interests.
Milei, a radical libertarian, took power in December promising to slash public spending and stave off hyperinflation. However, his reform push has faced stiff opposition from center-left opponents in Congress.
The lower house session on the reform bills is expected to be drawn out and could last until Tuesday, as lawmakers grapple with the unions’ demands and the broader economic challenges facing Argentina.