Argentina is facing a severe economic crisis. Inflation is soaring, poverty is rising, and government policies are dismantling crucial social protections, leaving millions of workers in informal employment in distress.
One particularly damaging aspect of these cuts is the destruction of the Social Monotributo, an internationally recognized good practice in formalizing employment and providing social protection to poorer workers in informal employment.
A Deepening Crisis Hitting the Poorest Hardest
Since taking office, President Javier Milei has implemented drastic economic measures, including the devaluation of the Argentine peso, which led to inflation exceeding 300% in 2024. Gas prices doubled and food costs rose by 50%.
Wages and pensions failed to keep pace, causing a sharp decline in purchasing power. The minimum wage depreciated by nearly 30% between November 2023 and May 2024. Workers in informal employment were hit hardest. Adjusted for inflation, their incomes declined by 22% in the first quarter of 2024 compared with a 14% drop for formal workers. Women, who are overrepresented in low-paying and informal work – where the gender wage gap is significantly larger – were particularly exposed.
Poverty rates skyrocketed. By September 2024, more than half of Argentinians lived in poverty, according to Argentina’s Indec statistics agency – up from just over 40% in the second half of 2023.
While the economy has started to recover with inflation dropping and wages increasing, many people have been pushed into poverty by the economic crisis and cuts to social programmes. Without adequate social and labour programmes, the poorest will be left behind.
Dismantling Social Protection and Inclusive Labour Policies
Before Milei’s administration, social and labour policies recognized the essential work done by workers in informal employment, especially in care, ecological and social sectors, ensuring these contributions were valued and supported. However, the current government has not only slashed social protection programmes but has also dismantled inclusive labour policies that upheld the importance of care, ecological and social work in the informal economy.
The dismantling of the Social Monotributo scheme – a system designed to help workers in informal employment transition into the formal economy while providing health care and access to pensions –has left hundreds of thousands of people without protection.
Previously, the government fully subsidized the Social Monotributo tax regime. But in October 2024, the government began requiring poor informal workers to pay 50% of their social security contributions out of pocket. Within weeks, 406,000 workers had dropped out of the system, losing access to critical social protection benefits, including health care and pension benefits, while also seeing their path to formality blocked.
The government also dissolved the Potenciar Trabajo programme, which provided direct income support and grants to worker cooperatives and community organizations. This programme not only supplemented the earnings of workers in informal employment but also reinforced the reality that their work contributes meaningfully to society.
Two new programmes, Programa Acompañamiento Social (PAS) and Volver al Trabajo (VAT), were introduced as replacements. However, PAS offers minimal financial assistance, while VAT has done little to connect workers with stable jobs. According to official reports, only 152 people have successfully transitioned into formal employment through VAT, despite over one million workers being transferred into the programme.
The removal of additional benefits, such as Nexo and Plus Sociocomunitario, has further harmed workers in informal employment. These programmes provided financial support for those engaged in social and community work, including care services, food distribution and waste collection. By cutting these programmes, the government has ignored the invaluable contributions of workers in informal employment to social welfare and environmental sustainability.
A Government that Refuses to Listen
Despite these devastating changes, the government has refused to engage in dialogue with civil society organizations, labour unions and community groups. Repeated attempts by the Union of Workers in the Popular Economy (UTEP) and WIEGO to meet with officials from the Ministry of Human Capital have been ignored. There is currently no formal mechanism for discussions between the state and worker organizations, leaving affected communities without a voice in policy making.
Appealing to Regional Human Rights Bodies
Worker organizations have turned to regional human rights mechanisms for support. On 14 November 2024, UTEP, the Center for Legal and Social Studies (CELS) and WIEGO held a public hearing at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), which highlighted how the rollback of social protections violated the rights of Argentina’s workforce in informal employment.
At the hearing, they collectively called on the IACHR to urge the Argentine government to take immediate action to mitigate the suffering of workers in informal employment. They demanded that the government:
- Reinstate and expand social protection programmes for workers in informal employment to recognize their contributions, support formalization and enable access to social security and health-care benefits. The Argentine Government should immediately reinstate the Social Monotributo subsidy for low-income workers, the Potenciar Trabajo, Nexo, Plus Sociocomunitario and the Argentina Recicla programs.
- Comply with international human rights law that prohibits any deliberate “regression” in social security. Argentina’s commitments must be met, especially under the Additional Protocol to the American Convention on Human Rights in the area of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (Protocol of San Salvador), the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as well as ILO International Labour Standards. These instruments mandate the state to progressively realize the right to social security and health care for all. Unjustifiably dismantling established social protection entitlements falls foul of this obligation.
- Comply with court rulings ordering the distribution of food to those in need.
- Strengthen social dialogue mechanisms. Institutionalized channels for consultation with worker organizations must be created to ensure that workers in informal employment have a voice in the development, implementation and evaluation of labour and social policies.
A Collective Call for Urgent Action
Argentina’s crisis is a human rights emergency where there are violations of the right to work, the right to social security, the right to live with dignity, the right to adequate food, and other rights. As demanded collectively by WIEGO, UTEP and CELS during the hearing: The government must act now to protect workers in informal employment, stop the discourses that stigmatize them and restore social protections. The social, ecological and economic contributions of workers in informal employment must be reaffirmed by restoring both social protection measures and inclusive labour policies that recognize and support their essential roles. The international community must support these collective demands, press for change, and stand in solidarity with Argentina’s workers in informal employment in their fight for justice and security.