The National Labor Justice today ordered a precautionary measure that orders the National Government and the Customs Collection and Control Agency – ARCA (exAFIP) to “refrain” from adopting any measure that affects the job stability of the employees and officials of the collection agency. This was decided, by majority, by the Fair Chamber of the court in response to a claim that had been initiated by the AEFIP union. In a 16-page ruling, judges Gabriel De Vedia, Roberto Pompa and Mario Fera (dissenting), revoked a first instance decision and granted the union’s claim, so The Executive Branch is left with the chainsaw out of calibration to advance in the 80% reduction of managerial salaries and the reduction of the structure which had been announced at the beginning of the year by President Javier Milei.
When 2024 was ending, the union had suffered a setback due to a request for a measure not to innovate regarding dismissals and modification of working conditions of employees enrolled in ARCA under the argument of a non-existence of case. However, when in the first days of this year the case escalated to the House, the decision was reversed. The protection dictated by justice also reaches personnel enrolled in SUPARA, the union that represents Customs workers..
The Government had announced that it intended to get rid of 15% of the staff –calculated at around 3,155 people- given that he perceived an increase in the structure of the former AFIP in recent years. This happened as soon as there was a change of command in the collection agency, the true reasons for which were revealed by Ámbito and led to the departure of Florencia Misrahi and her replacement by Juan Pazo, in an internal battle that was won by the Minister of Economy Luis “Toto” Caputo. .
The Executive claimed that the Labor Court was not competent to hear the case, but the Chamber rejected the argument because both unions and their representatives were included in the Collective Labor Agreements. The Public Prosecutor’s Office agreed.
The chainsaw that the Government wanted
The lawsuit pointed out that the report provided by the Milei Government to the Senate detected that an “imminent process of restructuring and reduction of personnel – affects the labor rights (individual and collective) of workers, while a reduction in personnel dependent on ARCA, ignoring the stability guarantee provided for in the applicable CCT.” They also rejected that the unions were not entitled to request judicial action in this case.
The demand argued that the law guarantees the stability of permanent staff agents in both the level and rank achieved. The Executive’s response was poor in both instances: it was reduced to the fact that there was no case because no mass dismissal had yet been carried out.
“The precautionary measure of not innovating requested is presupposed by the existence of a factual and legal situation that is intended to be maintained, since a measure of these characteristics cannot be requested when the damage has been consummated,” De said in the first vote. Vedia, according to the sentence to which he agreed Scope, exclusively. There was criticism of the first instance judge. And he concluded that there is a specific threat from the Executive in altering the labor stability regime in ARCA. This ensured plausibility of the right and danger in the delay, which triggered the precautionary measure granted by the Chamber.
Fera, in dissentagreed on the legitimation of the request by the unions but dissented on the granting of a precautionary measure. He considered that the issue required greater debate, both because of what would be a “discriminatory framework” from the State, and because of the stability demanded in the agreements. In some way, he agreed with the Government regarding decisions of merit, opportunity and convenience that should be left out of the judges’ actions because those decisions exceeded the precautionary instance and had not yet been adopted and their scope was not known. In any case, they should be analyzed subsequently by the Judiciary..
Pompa supported De Vedia in his vote and broke the tie in favor of the precautionary measure that the Chamber issued and that now prevents the Government from advancing with the chainsaw in ARCA.
A few days ago, The union that brings together the hierarchical staff of the former AFIP, UPSAFIP, had presented a request for a declaration of unconstitutionality before the court in Federal Administrative Litigation. of the decree that dissolved the AFIP and converted it into ARCA, arguing that the president does not have the delegated powers in tax matters to have issued it. From that union they had already warned that the only possible way was to go to the control of the Judiciary to reverse the decrees. Among them is also Provision 1/2025, which referred to the so-called Hierarchization Fund; provision 3/2025, which sought to promote voluntary retirements in the organization: and decree 13/2025, which in its sixth article sought to modify the Collective Agreements.
While this is being processed, now, the court that understands labor matters decided: “To revoke the appealed sentence and grant the requested precautionary measure, ordering the National Executive Branch and the Customs Collection and Control Agency to refrain from adopting any measure that contradicts or violates the stability guarantee provided for by CCT 56/92, Award 16/92 and by the CCT approved by award 15/91 signed by SUPARA and AEFIP”, with the order that they be notified the same day. It will remain until after the recess if there is a substantive issue to debate and if the Executive insists on applying a cut to the structure of the collection agency.
Source: Ambito