Overview
- Officials say the forthcoming bill seeks to remove hiring “rigidities,” simplify procedures and foster formalization, shifting priority from sector-wide contracts to agreements negotiated at the company level.
- Press reports describe an informal draft of more than 100 articles that includes “hours banks” to swap overtime pay for time off, freedom to set pay in an agreed currency, and possible exclusions or redefinitions for platform work.
- Union federations reject the direction of travel, with CGT figures and UOCRA’s Gerardo Martínez signaling potential mobilizations without deep consultations and other leaders warning of worker precarization and a weakened union role.
- The debate is set against a labor market with high informality and job losses, with CEPA citing over 18,000 company closures and 253,000 private formal jobs lost through mid‑2025 and official data showing 7.6% unemployment and roughly 42% informality.
- Analysts point to mixed outcomes from past decentralizing attempts, noting the 1998 reforms and SME-focused rules that saw limited uptake, and argue that changes to bargaining rules may require broader productivity and enforcement strategies to succeed.