Milei's Work Reforms

On 12 February, Argentina’s Senate approved a Milei-backed labour reform bill allowing workdays of up to 12 hours under new flexibility mechanisms. While not yet law, it is widely expected to pass the lower house despite Peronist opposition.

Predictably, parts of the left reacted with outrage, with some even describing the proposal as “slavery”. This ignores the simple reality that many workers already work 12-hour shifts or longer across both the public and private sectors. Crucially, the reform does not remove the 48-hour weekly limit. It merely allows hours to be condensed into longer days in exchange for more time off elsewhere — a practical, modern arrangement for sectors where workloads vary. The backlash says more about ideological hostility to deregulation than any genuine concern for workers.

The economic results under Milei speak for themselves. Argentina has moved towards its first budget surplus in over a decade through spending discipline; inflation, which had spiralled above 200% annually, has fallen sharply; IMF projections point to GDP growth of around 4.5% in 2025; and poverty has begun to decline as price stability returns. These are not abstract theories but measurable outcomes showing that market-led reform is reversing years of economic decline.

Labour flexibility fits naturally into this wider transformation. Making hiring easier, reducing informality, and allowing employers and workers to organise time more efficiently strengthens the economy and creates genuine opportunity. Far from harming workers, deregulation is helping rebuild the conditions for higher wages, investment, and long-term stability.

Critics on the left continue to frame deregulation as anti-worker while ignoring the damage caused by inflation, stagnation, and overregulation. Figures such as Zack Polanski reduce serious economic questions to slick slogans about “taxing the rich”, sidestepping basic debt maths and investment realities. In practice, socialists like Polanski often do the most damage to the very groups they claim to support - the working class - by promoting policies that sound compassionate but ultimately suppress growth and opportunity.

Argentina’s direction is now clear: fiscal responsibility, market freedom, and structural reform are delivering results where decades of interventionism failed. The labour reform is simply the next step in modernising the economy and empowering both workers and employers with greater choice and flexibility.

In other news, the Libertarian Party eagerly awaits President Milei’s upcoming visit to Britain later this spring. Updates on plans to welcome him, along with confirmed dates, will be shared as soon as details are finalised.