Argentina’s judiciary suspended yesterday Wednesdayat least temporarily, labor law reforms it contains sweeping decree by ultra-liberal new president Javier Millais, who was thus faced with the first setback of his tenure.

A second-instance labor court appealed to by the CGT trade union confederation, the country’s largest, imposed a “conservative measure suspending the application” of the provisions of the Labor chapter of the December 20 decree-river, pending their in-depth examination in parliament.

The suspension will be in place until a “final decision” is made on the issue raised, the judges emphasized in their decision, the text of which was broadcast by various media, including the official TELAM news agency.

The decision, the first defeat, even if accepted as temporary, for the reform drive of the extreme liberal Mr. Miley, is expected to be immediately challenged by the government.

The government “will appeal,” confirmed Rodolfo Barra, the “general attorney” tasked with overseeing legality and the state’s legal defense.

President Millay, who took office on December 10, presented ten days later a “necessary” and “urgent” decree by which he proceeds with a massive deregulation of the economy, amending or repealing more than 300 rules relating in particular to labor, the determination of commodity prices, the ceiling on rents, the privatization of public enterprises, the rules governing exports and imports.

Introducing the decree, Javier Millay referred to the need for the country to enter a “road towards reconstruction”, restoring “individual freedom and autonomy” and “disarming the vast amount of regulations that restrain, hinder and prevent economic development”.

This decree has technically already entered into force, but it will have to be approved later by the parliament, where the president’s party is only a third party. With a timetable still hypothetical.

Justice, the street and the parliament

But the decree has sparked fierce legal challenges over whether it is constitutional and has been the subject of more than a dozen court appeals, including one by the CGT last week.

The most controversial aspects of the labor law reform concern the extension of the apprenticeship period from 3 to 8 months, the reduction of compensation in cases of dismissals, limitation of the right to strike, the possibility of dismissal in cases of obstruction of operations or occupation of workplaces etc.

Among other arguments, the labor courts stated that the decree does not sufficiently document what are the “urgent” reasons for avoiding the due intervention of the legislative power in the process of changing the labor law, as well as that some of the measures it includes are “repressive or punitive in nature”.

They also emphasize that “it is not explained how the reforms, if implemented immediately, beyond the smooth legislative process, could correct the situation” and stimulate formal employment, “a fortiori given that the decree itself emphasizes that employment remains stagnant for 12 years”.

Appeal to justice it is one of the three axes of the opposition’s struggle—the other two being the street and parliament—against the liberal “revolution” preached by the far-right new president, especially the sweeping decree that bypasses parliament.

The CGT called a strike and mass mobilization against the “anti-labor” reform on January 24, in other words in the shortest time—a month and a half—after it took office after the restoration of democracy forty years ago.