Overview
- CGT leaders met Buenos Aires governor Axel Kicillof and issued a communiqué pledging to contest the reform in the streets, in Congress and in the courts.
- Government officials said they will not reopen formal negotiations with the union and intend to advance the bill in February after securing a Senate committee report.
- Union outreach has accelerated toward provincial governors and Peronist deputies as the CGT builds a coalition to stall the measure in the lower house.
- Key flashpoints include a new Labor Assistance Fund financed by a 3% wage levy, changes to severance rules and a cut in the worker retention for union health funds from 6% to 5%.
- After a limited turnout protest on December 18, the CGT warned it could call a national strike when the Senate takes up the bill and argues the reform will cost jobs and weaken purchasing power.