13/06/2026 21:29 - Economia
Trabajadores industriales en una lĂnea de montaje de autopartes, con engranajes y maquinaria moderna de fondo, ambiente de fábrica iluminado, representando la negociaciĂłn laboral y el trabajo en equipo
An hour bank is a labor flexibility mechanism that allows companies to accumulate unworked hours during low-activity periods to compensate later when demand recovers. Instead of paying overtime or implementing suspensions, workers reduce their hours during critical moments and recover those hours when production requires it.
This system, implemented in various countries, seeks to preserve employment by avoiding mass layoffs during economic crises. Workers continue receiving their regular salaries even though they work fewer hours temporarily, since hours stored in the bank are compensated with additional work in the future.
Days after the new labor modernization regulations took effect, Ontec (part of the Mirgor Group) signed an agreement with the Mechanics and Transport Workers Union (Smata) to implement an hour bank of 200 hours affecting 190 workers at its Baradero plant (located in Buenos Aires Province).
The mechanism authorizes the company to suspend work due to potential demand drops or input shortages, then compensate those hours when activity normalizes.
Smata, led by Ricardo Pignanelli — who also serves as fifth vice-president of the Justicialist Party (the main Peronist political party in Argentina) — downplayed the exceptional nature of the agreement, citing pragmatism amid the current recession.
"The hour bank is an emergency tool when circumstances warrant. It's not a downgrade or in exchange for overtime."
Smata leadership noted the sector used similar instruments during the 2001 and 2008 crises, as well as in a productivity agreement signed with Toyota in 2018.
The metal-mechanical sector faces shrinking activity that resulted in approximately 8,000 job losses over the past two years, according to union estimates.
This reality drives unions to seek alternatives for preserving jobs in an adverse economic context.
In the aviation sector, Flybondi agreed with the Flybondi Aviation Workers Association (Ataf) on a rotating suspension program paying 70% of wages, motivated by difficulties restoring its full aircraft fleet.
The Secretariat of Labor, led by Julio Cordero under the Ministry of Human Capital, seeks to deepen this trend by convening business chambers and union representatives to renegotiate hiring conditions.
The official strategy targets reviewing 446 collective bargaining agreements whose ultraactivity clauses were modified by recent legislation, also seeking to limit mandatory extraordinary contributions and promote company-level unions.
Ultraactivity is the principle whereby a collective bargaining agreement remains valid even after its original term expires, until a new one is signed. The labor reform modified this principle, forcing renegotiation of hundreds of agreements within a determined timeframe.
The operational viability of this initiative faces opposing views due to shrinking government labor structure, including closure of regional offices and elimination of the Trade Associations Directorate.
"They have no structure to call anyone," assessed a conciliatory union leader regarding administrative delays at the state agency. This diagnosis was partially shared by technicians from the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA) — the main business association — regarding difficulties processing routine procedures and collective conflicts.
The General Confederation of Labor (CGT) — Argentina's largest trade union federation historically linked to Peronism — is experiencing internal deliberation with disparate views among leadership regarding labor actions.
While a joint delegation from CGT and two CTA factions (another union federation) presented complaints before the International Labour Organization (ILO) in Geneva denouncing reforms' impact on social rights, domestically a cautious stance prevails regarding direct action measures.
Union fragmentation was evident after the lack of unified response to the judicial intervention ordered on the Metalworkers Union (UOM), where courts appointed Alberto Biglieri as intervenor for 180 days following questioning of the union's last electoral process.
Source: El DĂa
Alfredo S. Quiroga
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