1. The Argentine State fully guarantees the exercise of the right to self-determination, not only to its population as a whole, but to every person within that population. The Argentine people freely determine their political, economic and social system. The separate communities making up that population, for their part, have the instruments they need to preserve and develop their culture.
2. This latter aspect has been reinforced by constitutional provisions, which were added to the Constitution of the Republic as part of the 1994 reform. It will be discussed in connection with the information on article 15 of the Covenant.
3. The Constitution provides:
4. Article 20 of the Constitution in the chapter entitled "Declarations, rights and guarantees", states the following: "Foreigners in the territory of the Nation shall enjoy all the civil rights of a citizen; they may engage in their industry, commerce or profession; own real property, purchase it and alienate it; navigate the rivers and coasts; freely practise their religion; make wills and marry in accordance with the laws. They are not obliged to assume citizenship or to pay forced extraordinary taxes ...".
5. Specifically regarding discrimination, it should be noted that the enjoyment and exercise of all the human rights protected under the Argentine legal system are extended to all "inhabitants" of the Republic. As the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation has stated, the word "inhabitant" includes both nationals and foreigners and refers to persons residing in the territory of the Republic with the intention of remaining there, i.e. persons who currently live there, even though they might not be domiciled in Argentina with all the legal effects that entails.
6. With regards to the constitutional provisions recognizing the rights protected by the Covenant, the addition of article 75, paragraph 22, to the Constitution was an amendment of fundamental significance. As a result of the 1994 reform, the Covenant now enjoys constitutional status, does not derogate from any of the articles in part I of the Constitution and should be regarded as complementary to the rights and guarantees which the Constitution recognizes. Beyond what has been explicitly recognized by the national courts and the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation, the wording of this article clearly shows that it is possible to invoke the Covenant in the courts of law of the Republic.
7. Similarly, article 43 of the Constitution states:
8. As stated in the initial report, there are no distinctions or exclusions on grounds of sex in the Argentine Republic. All inhabitants are equal before the law in accordance with article 18 of the Constitution. The Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation has interpreted these provisions as meaning that the basis for the guarantee of equality before the law is the provision of equal treatment to people in reasonably equal circumstances; this guarantee therefore does not prevent the legislator from giving different consideration to situations he believes to be different, provided that such distinctions are not made using arbitrary criteria leading to undue favour or prejudice, undue personal or class advantages or disadvantages or unlawful persecution.
9. Without prejudice to the foregoing, there are situations in which the legislation provides for additional, broader protection designed to achieve the goal of non-discrimination.
10. Thus, the enjoyment and effective exercise of the rights set forth in the Covenant in no way vary according to whether the person in question is a man or a woman.
11. The Argentine State has acceded to the following International Labour Organization Conventions:
Labour market
12. The Comprehensive Retirement and Pension System (SIJP) provides information on the wages paid for reported salaried posts, thus giving indicators of the wage per reported post in the different economic sectors. After approximately 3.8 million reported posts were processed, it was determined that the average monthly wage in the first quarter of 1996 was approximately $Arg 887.
13. The average wage was higher in the goods-producing sectors ($Arg 912), with the highest wages in mining and quarrying and electricity, gas and water. The highest average wages in the service sectors were in the communications and banking and insurance categories.
14. The distribution of reported posts by economic activity was as follows: 37.9 per cent in the goods-producing sectors and 62.1 per cent in the service sectors.
15. The information available on the economy's performance in the first quarter of 1996 and the months of April and May indicates that the recession that began in the second quarter of 1995 has come to an end and that a solid growth process is again under way. The recession, a harsh ordeal, was intense, but short-lived. The fact that the recession was so intense and so short confirmed its root cause as being the great uncertainty caused by the fear that the economic programme under way would be discontinued.
16. The reaffirmation of the new economic organization was a key factor in quick recovery of growth. The establishment of monetary and exchange stability enabled the financial system to recover credibility and deposits to climb back up to levels well above those that prevailed at the beginning of the crisis.
17. Traders' extreme sensitivity to this uncertainty had an adverse effect on the value of financial assets and resulted in the financial system sustaining a loss of a fifth of its deposits in the first quarter of 1995. This sensitivity was not incidental, but based on the Argentines' long and painful learning process concerning the redistribution and confiscation processes brought into effect by inflationary and depreciatory policies and by price freezes and forced conversions. The collective memory of these experiences and their potential for recurring made traders hasten to overadjust their portfolios and reduce their exposure to risk. But this time the feared spiral towards economic chaos did not take place.
18. The steps adopted by the Government from the onset of the crisis, which were aimed at strengthening the currency and continuing with the structural reforms and which were given appropriate support by Congress, bore fruit. The people's willingness to tolerate the inevitable costs of this severe crisis without indulging in irresponsible behaviour, while placing their hopes in the recovery of growth through the continuation of the economic reforms under way, showed the Argentines' firm commitment to a stable economic context and the possibility of predicting policies.
19. The 1995 crisis also demonstrated our economy's flexibility in adapting to the disturbances. The decrease in the investment coefficient during 1995 was more than offset by the reduction in the use of external savings, which was reflected in an increase in the domestic savings rate despite the drop in income that had begun in 1993. In addition, the national savings rate increased despite the dissaving in the public sector created by the decrease in tax revenue. Public dissaving was more than offset by an increase in private savings.
20. The reduction in the use of external savings reflects the fact that, following a period in which spending exceeded income, domestic expenditure in 1995 stayed in line with the national product.
21. The flexibility of the Argentine economy was also reflected in a significant change in relative prices to the benefit of internationally marketable goods and services. The previous period of sharp increase in spending on goods and services which had ended before the recession began, led to a significant relative increase in the prices of non-marketable goods and services.
22. This process had begun to reverse itself as early as 1993 and was accelerated by the downturn in the level of activity. The flexibility of the price system in a context of full stability and economic freedom resulted in the international competitiveness shown by a large number of industries. There was a significant increase in exports, which generated a trade surplus for the first time since convertibility.
23. The first quarter of 1996 shows that, in aggregate terms, the economy is returning to 1994 levels, as might be expected if the prognosis of 5 per cent real growth for the current year is borne out. There is, however, every indication that basic macroeconomic relations in 1996 will be similar to those of 1995 rather than 1994, confirming the interpretation of 1995 as being a transition to a pattern of less relative growth in consumption and increase in the savings rate.
24. Of course, the effects of the recession will not be the same, either for businesses or for entire sectors, but will vary according to the rhythm of each and its ability to adapt to a highly competitive environment. Increases in production will probably lag somewhat behind increases in sales, as businesses respond at lower inventory levels than desired. Growth in employment will also lag somewhat behind growth in production, since the working hours of those already employed will increase before additional workers are hired on.
25. Nevertheless, although emerging from the recession will not be enough in itself to solve the employment problem, there are reasons to believe that the features of economic growth will be different from those of the 1992-1994 cycle, which was characterized by high product growth and low increase in employment.
26. At that time, the restructuring process was fully under way in both the private and public sectors, with the addition of new technologies and production, distribution and marketing processes, a significant increase in productivity resulting from the stability and with a change in the previous economy's suffocating rules of the game, such as the cheapening of capital goods and the disappearance of inflation as an instantaneous means of relaxing labour costs. All these factors resulted in a reduction of employment demand per product unit. Although the economic restructuring process will continue, most of its negative effects on employment may be assumed to be over.
27. From now on, growth will be more intensive in the labour area and this will lead to the creation of more jobs than in the recent past. The Government will aid in this process by further eliminating rigidities in the labour market. Similarly, in order to help reduce labour costs and stimulate employment, the system of tax deductions for employers was fully restored in January 1996 and now covers all branches of industry. In addition, the institutional changes in the mortgage market and the decrease in the interest rate are creating a sharp increase in the supply and accessibility of housing loans which will facilitate the recovery and expansion of the building sector, with the labour demand that goes with it.
28. There will also be a delay in tax revenue recovery owing to changes in product composition. Persistent and more widespread tax evasion also helped increase this delay. Bearing this situation in mind, the Government has been focusing its efforts on tax evasion control through a broad cross-indexing plan aimed at improving the analytical capacity of the Tax Department. The reform of the national Government is also continuing and being extended to the provincial governments, the tax system is being strengthened and the efficiency of public spending in the social sphere increased at all levels of government.
29. The deficit in the social benefits systems has also been an aggravating factor in the provincial governments' public financial crisis. For this reason, the national Government has begun implementing a strategy for standardizing the benefits system by incorporating the provincial systems into the Comprehensive Retirement and Pension System.
30. According to preliminary estimates, gross domestic product (GDP) showed a 3.2 per cent year-to-year decrease in the first quarter of 1996, which represented a lower drop than in previous quarters. These preliminary estimates for the first quarter show a drop of approximately 5.9 per cent in the goods-producing sectors, while the services sectors increased slightly, by 0.1 per cent. This downturn in the goods-producing sectors was particularly influenced by the decreases in the building, manufacturing and agricultural and fishing sectors, as the rest of the goods-producing sectors (mining and electricity, gas and water) would have increased again in the first quarter of 1996.
31. The somewhat positive performance by the service sectors is based on growth in the financial sector and, to a lesser extent, in community and personal services, as the preliminary figures for the remaining service sectors show negative movement. In April, the Monthly Industrial Index (EMI), increased by 6 per cent year-to-year, after dropping for 13 months running.
Note: The coefficients of variation for the unemployment rate of women heads of household are over 20 per cent.
Measures taken in relation to technical training
32. With regard to changes in areas covered by the Covenant, specifically in connection with vocational training activities during the period 1994-1995, the Argentine State wishes to set out the legal provisions and agreements on which such activities are based, the basic features of the programmes implementing them, the profile of the programmes' beneficiaries or target populations and the results obtained or extent to which their goals have been achieved.
33. Information on this point will be presented in the following order: first, a list of the legal provisions and agreements that provide the framework for vocational training policy; second, a description of the activities and programmes conducted since the initial report and an indication of their overall results; lastly, a detailed list of the projects being conducted with technical and financial assistance from international agencies.
34. In describing these activities, a sufficiently long reference period (1994-1995) has been chosen to give an overall view of the progress made towards the goal of "progressive achievement" of particular interest to the Covenant.
35. Given the importance of attending to the most vulnerable groups, the information provided includes vocational training activities and programmes targeting such groups, with which the Argentine State has concerned itself particularly in the belief that they must be helped to enter the labour world.
36. The preceding information was provided by the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Public Works and Services.
Legal provisions
Laws, decrees and government decisions
37. Vocational training, with its goal of maintaining an ongoing high level of qualification for workers and refreshing their knowledge and skills, is one of the key aspects of Argentina's dynamic employment policy. Legal provisions promoting and regulating vocational training policies have progressively been established to achieve optimum implementation of this policy.
38. National Employment Act No. 24.013, ratified in 1992, stipulates that vocational training is a basic component of employment policies and programmes. Through the mechanisms laid down in the Act, policy is directed at enforcing the constitutional right to work and systematically encompasses all national economic and social policies. Article 5 of the National Employment Act states that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is the implementing authority and that the design and execution of employment and vocational training policies are under that Ministry's responsibility.
39. The Office of the Under-Secretary for Vocational Training was established pursuant to Decree No. 1334 of 1992, which stipulates that technical and vocational training is a core element of job promotion strategies. The Office is a branch of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
40. On 10 February 1994, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security adopted decision No. 220 establishing the National Register of Vocational and Technical Training Institutions (REGICAL), which contains the names of public and private organizations that provide human resources training services and foreign public and private organizations and international agencies that conduct training activities. The Office of the Under-Secretary for Vocational Training (now the Secretariat of Employment and Vocational Training) is responsible for implementing activities, coordinating them with the provincial authorities and designing criteria for assessing the quality of the training offered in terms of the needs of workers and businesses. It also takes steps to improve training quality, arrange for its classification and define criteria for measuring the quality and profitability of vocational activities.
41. On 11 March 1994, Ministry of Labour and Social Security decision No. 313 established criteria for assigning resources from the National Employment Fund that are to be allocated to vocational and occupational training. The basic premise for these criteria is the importance of occupational training for two of the country's objectives, competitiveness and employment. The decision points out the need for available resources to be assigned according to the criteria of territorial equity, profitability for the community and economic efficiency. The territorial equity criterion is reflected in the decree's stipulation that 30 per cent of resources are to be assigned to activities at the national level and the remaining 70 per cent to the provinces. Budgetary resources for 1994 were allocated for occupational training activities proposed and promoted by representatives of workers and employers jointly. Priority is given to proposals linked to job creation projects for which the proponents or third parties have made co-financing commitments.
42. Act No. 24.465 on apprenticeship contracts was adopted on 15 March 1995. Article 4 of the Act defines the apprenticeship contract as a special contractual relationship which links an employer and a young unemployed person, gives rise to rights and obligations and is conducted under the supervision of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Those eligible to participate in this type of relationship are young unemployed people between 14 and 25 years of age who in each case conclude contracts with their employers binding the employers to satisfy the training objective of the apprenticeship. Bargaining committees for collective labour agreements may arrange for joint vocational training programmes and procedures to adapt these types of contracts to the specific features of each sector, branch or business involved.
43. Ministry of Labour and Social Security decision No. 1155 introduced a form of labour contract involving on-the-job training for young people. The on-the-job training contract concluded between firms and young people up to 24 years of age provides young people working in a firm with simultaneous vocational training appropriate to the job they are performing. A description of the training is contained in a sandwich course syllabus authorized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The young person hired is paid the wage specified for the occupational category corresponding to his or her post by the collective labour agreement governing the branch of industry in which he or she is working.
44. Act No. 24.467 was adopted on 23 March 1994; its purpose is to encourage the growth and development of small and medium-sized businesses by promoting general policies through the establishment of new instruments of support and strengthening existing ones. Article 96 of the Act, which covers vocational training, states that: "Vocational training is a right and fundamental duty of workers in small businesses, who shall be given preferential access to government-funded in-service training programmes. Workers who attend vocational training courses in the areas covered by the small business in which they are working may ask their employers to adjust their work day to the requirements of such courses. Collective labour agreements governing small businesses must contain a special chapter on the development of the duty towards and the right to training".
45. Decree No. 440 was issued by the National Executive on 27 March 1995. As National Employment Act No. 24.013 stipulates that vocational training is a basic component of Argentine labour policy, as Federal Education Act No. 24.195 stipulates that coordination among education, labour and technical and vocational training are key aspects of the country's educational policy and as the Framework Agreement for Employment, Productivity and Social Equity provides that the training of workers is a prerequisite for any strategy aimed at productive growth together with social equity, the President of Argentina ordered the establishment of the National Council for Vocational Training and Development. Among the Council's objectives is to help consolidate and improve activities aimed at raising workers' skill levels.
46. On 19 April 1995, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security issued decision No. 13, which is intended to improve procedures for allocating resources to vocational training projects.
47. On 13 May 1995, the National Executive issued Decree No. 738. As the apprenticeship contract does not give rise to a labour relationship between the parties, basic health and insurance coverage for the apprentice must be specified. The decree also stipulates that, when the apprenticeship contract runs to over one year, the contracting employer must submit to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security a training programme which is to be considered as approved when there have been no comments to the contrary by the deadline stipulated in the contract.
48. On 16 June 1995, decision No. 35 was issued specifying the competence of the Office of the Under-Secretary for Employment of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security with respect to the Apprenticeship Development Programme (APRENDER). Its function is to provide supervision and follow-up for the Programme. Applications to join the APRENDER Programme should be submitted to the Regional Employment Development Offices.
49. On 3 July 1995, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security issued decision No. 499, establishing the Ministry's internal competence over apprenticeship contracts. The decision is aimed at setting standards for the monitoring and control of apprenticeship contracts, defined as a form of contract distinct from a contract of employment, having training as its objective. The training programme which the contracting employer must submit when the apprenticeship runs to over 12 months is to be modeled on a sample programme contained in the decision. The certificate issued by the employer when the apprenticeship has been completed is drawn up according to the model contained in the decision.
50. On 31 July 1995, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security issued decision No. 94 specifying the reallocation of resources intended for vocational training, with priority given to the establishment of occupational workshops. The remainder of the resources is to be made available for job training fellowships and other aids proposed by the Office of the Under-Secretary for Vocational Training.
51. On 10 August 1995, the National Executive issued Decree No. 286, article 1 of which provides for the establishment of the Office of the Under-Secretary for Employment and Vocational Training: "Given that the Framework Agreement for Employment, Productivity and Social Equity establishes guidelines for reforming labour relations and helping to create jobs and given that experience gained through the employment promotion and vocational training programmes made it advisable to coordinate them and provide them with tools for prompter and more efficient action, the Office of the Under-Secretary was established and provided with new functions and areas of competence".
52. On 10 August 1995, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security issued decision No. 133, which grew out of experience gained in the Occupational Workshops Programme, in which 10 occupational workshops were put into operation in northern Argentina and Gran Rosario. The Programme introduced at least three innovations: (1) the workshops were run completely differently from more conventional forms of technical education; (2) the concept of self-financing of the workshops was introduced; and (3) priority was given to training for employment ("vocational training"). Decision No. 133 extends the scope of the Occupational Workshops Programme to the entire country and stipulates that the Office of the Under-Secretary for Employment and Vocational Training of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is responsible for implementing the Programme and defining the instruments needed for conducting, monitoring and developing it.
53. On 6 October 1995, Ministry of Labour and Social Security decision No. 320 established the Occupational Training Programme, whose purpose is to provide support for vocational training activities using resources from the National Employment Fund. The Programme's target population is unemployed adults of both sexes, the staff of small and medium-sized businesses and workers in the private sector who are threatened with unemployment. The projects submitted must include an appropriate methodology for detecting the skills needed in the labour market, as well as apprenticeship programmes aimed at developing certain skills. Emphasis will be placed on evaluating their relevance, quality, effectiveness and efficiency.
International agreements
54. On 15 June 1978, Argentina ratified the ILO Convention (No. 142) concerning Vocational Guidance and Vocational Training in the Development of Human Resources, article 1 of which states that "Each member shall adopt and develop comprehensive and coordinated policies and programmes of vocational guidance and vocational training, closely linked with employment".
Inter-agency cooperation agreements
55. In May 1993, a cooperation agreement was signed between the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the National Council for Women, geared towards inter-agency cooperation in the fulfilment of the commitments assumed by Argentina when, through Act No. 23.179, it adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. The agreement concerns employment as covered in article 11 of the Convention and implements Argentina's commitments in the framework of the policies set forth in National Employment Act No. 24.023. The promotion of vocational guidance, vocational training and retraining of women workers is among the objectives of the agreement.
56. On 25 July 1994, the Government convened the General Workers Confederation (CGT), the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA), the Chamber of Commerce, the Argentine Builders' Association, the Argentine Construction Association, the Association of Argentine Banks (ADEBA), the Association of Banks of the Argentine Republic (ABRA), the Argentine Rural Corporation (SRA) and the Buenos Aires Stock Exchange to conclude the Framework Agreement for Employment, Productivity and Social Equity. The Agreement stipulates that the training of workers is a key element of the national policy of growth with social equity. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security provides special support for the training programmes agreed on by the social partners. The Government, together with the business and labour sectors, agrees to conduct innovative actions to cope with unemployment and further to develop the model of economic change with social equity. The main goals of the set of actions proposed by the National Executive are job creation, an increase in the economy's level of competitiveness and introduction of new elements for social equity, objectives which are attainable only through a commitment by all three parties in which each of the social sectors takes on its full share of responsibility in meeting the current challenges.
National Programmes
57. Through its Office of the Under-Secretary for Vocational Training (now the Secretariat for Employment and Vocational Training), the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has taken responsibility for the occupational training of various target groups throughout the country.
58. The management methodology adopted to meet its general objectives consists of financing those vocational training projects and programmes that have been submitted by the various social partners and approved by the Secretariat itself.
59. The allocation of funds was specified in Ministry of Labour and Security decision No. 313/95 on budgetary distribution between the provincial districts and the Federal Capital.
60. In assessing the projects submitted, the Office of the Under-Secretary for Vocational Training enjoyed the services of a team of assessors specially trained by the Vocational Training Centre (CEDFOPE) to evaluate the course contents.
61. The population covered fell into the following categories or target groups:
(a) The rank-and-file of businesses in the private sector, who receive in-service training in order to improve their skills and knowledge and ensure that they keep their jobs and have access to career development;
(b) Public servants affected by the administrative rationalization process in provincial and municipal governments, who are provided with retraining courses aimed at helping them to re-enter the labour market;
(c) Unemployed workers registered with the Employment Services Network, those receiving unemployment insurance and unemployed workers in general, who are given vocational training courses to enable them to compete for stable and adequately paid jobs. In such cases, priority is given to projects which have received a commitment to hire from businesses in the private sector at the time of their submission;
(d) Young people looking for their first job who may, while they are job hunting, avail themselves of special programmes on skills development, guidance and labour practice, as set out in the description of the vulnerable groups.
Occupational training programmes
62. The purpose of this programme is to provide support for technical training activities using resources from the National Employment Fund. The target population consists of unemployed adults of both sexes, the staff of small and medium-sized businesses (including managers) and workers in the private sector who are threatened with unemployment. Training projects may be submitted by:
(a) Training agencies, in agreement with a business or with business association;
(b) Businesses or business associations working in partnership with an in-house or external training agency;
(c) Trade unions in association with businesses and a training agency;
(d) Trade unions in association with an in-house or external training agency, for programmes targeting the unemployed in their sector.
63. In selecting proposals, priority is given to the following:
(a) Those which best satisfy the criteria of relevance, product quality, economic efficiency and social equity;
(b) Projects which, in addition to specific technical training, include training modules on general work skills and on practical skills required by a competitive business context;
(c) Projects which have received a commitment from businesses to hire a significant percentage of their beneficiaries.
REGICAL
64. In designing the National Vocational Training Plan, it was necessary to take a census of the vocational training services on offer in the public and private sectors. The National Register of Vocational and Technical Training Institutions (REGICAL), whose purpose is to create a vocational services market having the necessary transparency and quality level, was established with this objective in mind.
65. Public and private organizations which provide technical training services, and which may be national or foreign organizations, as well as international bodies carrying out training activities and wishing to operate in Argentina, register voluntarily with REGICAL. Formalities are coordinated by the provincial authorities and the regional offices of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
66. On 31 August 1994, the Ministry of Labour and Social Security published the first "Guide to Technical Training Institutions and Courses" containing lists of vocational training institutions in alphabetical order and by province and lists of courses by subject, province and institution.
67. Summary of the first managerial assessment, January-December 1994 (see annex 1). A total of 76,150 workers received occupational training and 4,009 courses were offered. The courses were taught in 24 districts in the country. In terms of subject, the courses with the highest enrolment were those in computer science and human resources management/administration. Other popular subjects were electricity and electronics, agriculture and stockraising, tourism and building. The total amount invested was $Arg 15,369,507.60. Budget resources were allocated in accordance with the technical criterion for territorial equity laid down in decision No. 313/94 by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, which states that "30 per cent of funds have been allocated to national activities and the remaining 70 per cent to provincial activities". The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has delegated responsibility for occupational training activities by concluding agreements with public and private bodies:
Agreements with NGOs and others: 32 per cent
Agreements with public bodies: 36 per cent
Agreements with trade union bodies: 15 per cent
Agreements with employers' bodies 17 per cent
68. Summary of the second managerial assessment: enrolment, courses and budget for the period January-June 1995 (see annexes 1 to 6)
Vocational training courses
Enrolment 96,981
Number of courses 5,104
Total cost $Arg 16,216,426.17
Vocational workshops
Enrolment 1,325
Total cost $Arg 814,260.00
Totals
Total enrolment 98,306
Total cost $Arg 17,030,686.17
Counterparts
State 34 per cent
NGOs and others 31 per cent
Trade unions 17 per cent
Firms 18 per cent
The vocational training courses were given in the Federal Capital and in 21 Argentine provinces. In terms of occupational areas the most popular were human resources and administration, computer science, building, miscellaneous services, sales, electricity and electronics, agriculture and stockraising and tourism.
Programmes for groups at risk
69. Groups of workers who have the greatest difficulties finding jobs receive attention through ad hoc projects or activities. These groups include young people, particularly those from sectors with low levels of education, women, who are at a disadvantage because of persistent cultural barriers that restrict their job opportunities, and the disabled, whose opportunities of finding jobs are very limited.
70. In this situation, the vocational Training Department of the Training of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security has adopted measures and implemented programmes to deal with these groups' disadvantages.
71. Programmes for young people. Since it is difficult for young people to join the labour market and there is a gap between training and production requirements, strategies for action have begun to be implemented to promote training for young people as part of the Framework Agreement for Employment, Produtivity and Social Equity.
(a) Special job schemes for young people. The introduction of special job schemes in the form of "job experience" and "job training" (Act No. 24.013) has made it possible to increase employment opportunities for young people by influencing demand for labour through tax incentives for firms (tax breaks on employers' contributions). The contracts are limited to 24 months and take the following two forms:
(i) Job-training contracts. This type of contract is for firms and young people aged up to 24 who receive vocational training for the job they perform while working in the firm. The training takes the form of an individualized sandwich course which is approved by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. The wages received by young people thus employed are set by the collective bargaining agreement for the branch and occupational category in which they work;
(ii) Job experience contracts. These contracts are drawn up between firms and young people aged up to 24 who have completed an approved training course and are looking for their first job. This type of contract enables young people to gain job experience and use and improve their skills. The basic requirement is that the job experience provided has to match their level of training and specialization.
Job training and job-experience contracts
Results of the period 1992-1995
Job experience 9,465 contracts
Job training 8,808 contracts
The geographical distribution of these contracts is given in annex 3 below.
(b) APRENDER Programme. Decision No. 35/95 established a programme designed to promote employment through apprenticeship. The programme is open to unemployed young people aged between 14 and 25. The apprenticeship contracts are for a minimum of three and a maximum of 24 months. Firms undertake to conclude a contract to satisfy the training objectives of the apprenticeship and to provide proper health coverage. The programmes is implemented by the Regional Employment Development Offices under the supervision of the Under-Secretariat for Employment (currently the Secretariat for Employment and Vocational Training). Through the APRENDER apprenticeship programme the Ministry of Labour and Social Security is developing the measures introduced by recent legislation in this field in order to bring more people into the labour market.
(c) Apprenticeship contracts. Act No. 24.465 provides for a type of contract (different from a contract of employment) which is designed to establish links between firms and unemployed young people to give them work experience and training and is monitored by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Under this type of contract, the contracting firm agrees to give the young person general technical training during the first phase of his contract and to submit an individualized training plan to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security if the contract runs to more than one year. An updated managerial assessment is included in annex 4. Its general characteristics are the following:
(i) The target population includes young people aged between 14 and 25 without training;
(ii) The apprenticeship contract is valid for a minimum of 3 months and a maximum of 24 months;
(iii) If the apprenticeship lasts more than 12 months, the firm is required to submit a description of the training to be provided;
(iv) By law, remuneration amounting to no less than the minimum agreed wage for the job is to be paid for the apprenticeship;
(v) Decree No. 438/95 determines the health and accident insurance coverage which firms are required to provide for apprentices;
(vi) On completion of the apprenticeship, the firm is required to provide the apprentice with a certificate stating the nature, level and duration of the apprenticeship and an assessment of his performance.
72. Programmes for women. Women's participation in the labour market has increased considerably in recent decades, but not under genuine conditions of equality with men. Against this background, the Equal Opportunities for Women in Employment Programme (PIOME) has been under way since 1993; it is the result of joint action by two government departments: the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the National Council for Women. Its main objective is inter-agency cooperation to ensure compliance with the undertaking to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women in employment, a measure which was decided by Act No. 23.279 and which acquired constitutional status when it was incorporated into the 1994 reform. One of the channels for achieving equal employment opportunities is vocational training for women. This is why the Vocational Training Department has encouraged specific occupational training measures to make it easier for women to enter the various sectors and levels of employment.
73. The objectives of the framework agreement signed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the National Council for Women include promoting vocational guidance, vocational training, retraining and skills training for working women.
74. In order to put women on an equal footing and make them less vulnerable, an additional protocol to the above-mentioned framework agreement was signed in order to implement the subprogramme on vocational guidance services for women. The following measures have been implemented through the subprogramme in order to increase vocational training for women.
(a) The Employment Guidance Services for Women Programme (SOLAM) has been operating since 1994. It is the result of joint action by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and the National Council for Women and is designed to set up services specializing in vocational guidance and vocational training for women. Its purpose is to help improve the terms on which women enter and remain in the labour market and it provides for the establishment of specialized services at the municipal level. It will be implemented on a step-by-step basis, with responsibilities being shared by the administrative sectors and levels involved. Initially, activities were carried out in three of Argentina's provinces on the basis of the following additional protocols to the framework agreement:
(i) Additional protocol with Misiones province for the implementation of a vocational training project to provide women with vocational guidance.
Beneficiaries 50
Amount invested $Arg 36 000
(ii) Additional protocol with Jujuy province for the implementation of the vocational training project to provide women with vocational guidance.
Total investment $Arg 36 000
(iii) Additional protocol with Santa Fe province for the implementation of the vocational training project to provide women with vocational guidance.
It is intended that the programme should be implemented gradually in other Argentine provinces.
(b) Other programmes. A general description of other vocational training activities for women in the period 1993-1995 is given below.
(i) 1993. Activities were carried out in the Federal Capital and in four Argentine provinces (Salta, Mendoza, Misiones and La Pampa), with the following results:
Beneficiaries 2 275
Total investment $Arg 280 346
The following courses were given: training for trainers, personal computer operators (design, layout and typesetting), business management, industrial tailoring and dressmaking, upholstering, caring for children and the elderly, dental assistants, micro-enterprise management and elementary cooking.
(ii) 1994. Activities were carried out in the Federal Capital and in six Argentine provinces (Sante Fe, Córdoba, Buenos Aires, Chaco, Tucumán and La Pampa), with the following results:
Beneficiaries 909
Total investment $Arg 283 311
Courses were given on the following subjects: hotel management, agro-industry, the clothing industry, micro-enterprises, computer science, caring for children and the elderly, crop farming and horticulture and tailoring and dressmaking.
(iii) 1995. Activities were carried out in the Federal Capital and in five Argentine provinces (Misiones, Santa Fe, Buenos Aires, Córdoba and Tucumán), with the following results:
Beneficiaries 2 298
Total investment $Arg 436 668
The beneficiaries include 30 female micro-entrepreneurs.
(iv) Other measures. Inclusion in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's Registry of Training Institutions of institutions offering and providing training for women. Such institutions are classified as training providers under the Productive Retraining Support Programme.
75. Programmes for the disabled. The International Labour Organization defines a person who is disabled for employment as an individual whose prospects of securing, retaining and advancing in suitable employment are substantially reduced as a result of a duly recognized physical or mental impairment.
76. ILO Convention No. 159 was approved by Argentina through Act No. 23.462, which provides a framework for the successive phases of vocational guidance, occupational training and job placement which constitute employment rehabilitation for disabled persons. The legal framework is supplemented by National Employment Act No. 24.013, which provides for the implementation of programmes for the disabled, and by Act No. 24.408, which emphasizes the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security in respect of the disabled.
77. In 1992, the Inter-agency Cooperation Agreement was signed by the National Advisory Commission for the Integration of Disabled Persons and the Under-Secretariat for Vocational Training of the Ministry of Labour and Social Security to implement the 1992-1997 vocational guidance and training programme, which provides that disabled persons should be included in regular vocational training courses.
78. In 1994, an Inter-agency Letter of Agreement was signed by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the Ministry of the Economy, the Advisory Committee for the Integration of Disabled Persons, the National Special Education Department, the Technical Education Department of the Municipality of Buenos Aires, the Argentine Union of Industries and the Trade Union Association of the General Confederation of Labour to unify and coordinate programmes carried out by the various institutions and to introduce a system under which technical training is the cornerstone of participation in the labour market and income generation for the disabled.
79. Some examples of initiatives in this field are given below:
(a) The inclusion in the "Training for trainers" course of a unit on "Understanding disability", whose content is intended to enhance the skills and preparedness of trainers;
(b) Inclusion in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security's Registry of Training Institutions of training institutions for disabled persons. These institutions will be classified as training providers under the Productive Retraining Support Programme;
(c) In Argentina's interior and in the greater Buenos Aires area, support was provided for education and training measures. They include the establishment of a workshop for the physically disabled, leading to employment, in the province of Mendoza. The workshop provides training in the manufacture of orthopaedic prostheses and articles. It is also planned to include other skills such as carpentry, welding, upholstery and tailoring and dressmaking;
(d) Training courses were organized in Santa Fe province to provide mentally disabled persons with training in carpentry and basketwork. The programme is intended to benefit 230 persons;
(e) In Tucumán province, the Under-Secretariat for Vocational Training has provided support for courses in bricklaying to be given in a special school. The courses benefited 80 persons suffering from slight mental impairment;
(f) Technical and financial support was provided through an agreement with the town of Lomas de Zamora for courses for personal computer operators attended by 130 persons suffering from slight mental impairment.
(g) The Industrial Rehabilitation Centre for the Disabled has drawn up a project for disabled persons which provides for the following stages in integration in the labour market: admission, guidance, vocational training and integration into industrial workshops;
(h) At the beginning of 1995, the Comprehensive Medical Assistance Plan of the Comprehensive Employment and Vocational Training Programme for Disabled Workers (PIEFOPROD), funding for which was provided for by Act No. 24.308, was handed over to the authorities.
International cooperation
Technical and financial cooperation
80. Since June 1994, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has been providing assistance to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security through the Under-Secretariat for Vocational Training (currently the Secretariat for Employment and Vocational Training) in the form of the Norte Argentino y Gran Rosario project. Initially, the project focused on analysing supply and demand for vocational training in the provinces of Norte Argentino and Gran Rosario (Catamarca, Chaco, Formosa, Jujuy, La Rioja, Salta, Santa Fe, which includes Gran Rosario, Santiago del Estero and Tucumán). The project also aimed to identify labour market trends and related vocational training needs and to set up provincial technical teams capable to help to define vocational training guidelines and measures in the various districts. The project cooperated in a pilot retraining experiment involving 10 occupational training centres and helped make them centres of excellence. To this end, working links between firms and trade unions and occupational training centres were established through sponsorship arrangements.
81. In the Norte provinces, the national Government, through the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, has helped to set up eight Regional Employment Development Offices in accordance with decision No. 52/94, in the context of the Employment Act. In conjunction with the provincial authorities, the Regional Offices are primarily responsible for implementing vocational training and employment strategies and for encouraging social partners to participate in designing and running government policies.
82. Occupational workshops. Project ARG./94/007 on "Social and employment policy, vocational training and modernization of collective bargaining" provided the framework for the Occupational Workshops Programme pilot experiment, which introduced two major innovations: self-financed workshops and training for employment (occupational training). On the basis of this experiment, the Government decided to extend the Occupational Workshops Programme throughout Argentina in order to satisfy the pressing demand for training for productive employment and to fill a gap in the vocational training system.
83. The occupational workshops are establishments designed to provide workers with training through short courses that are closely related to the requirements of local labour markets. The courses are strongly practically oriented, without neglecting training in the basic principles of industrial processes and techniques. The occupational workshops are operated along lines of economic and social efficiency, decentralization, organizational autonomy, social participation and self-assertion. They are intended to provide training both for persons looking for jobs and for persons who have jobs and need retraining and skills upgrading. They also provide high-quality training services for persons seeking their first job and for persons unemployed as a result of industrial restructuring. They provide support and training for workers in micro-enterprises and small and medium-sized enterprises, as well as for owners.
84. The occupational workshops are funded by the following sources: (a) contributions by firms; (b) fees paid by users; (c) scholarships granted by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security and funded by the National Employment Fund.
85. According to the 29 September 1995 status report on occupational workshops, nine occupational workshops were approved, with six already under construction and the construction of the three others still pending, and a further three workshops were under development. Annex 6 to this report gives the location of the workshops (province and town) and the focus of the courses to be given.
86. The measures referred to have set the stage for redefining occupational training strategies. In comparison with traditional strategies aimed at enhancing the training capacity of specialized public institutions, the new trend is towards greater involvement of those directly concerned, thereby making it possible to organize more flexible demand-based procedures.
Financial cooperation
87. Financial cooperation from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) is supporting the development of the Productive Retraining Support Programme, on which the Image Project (a guidance component for occupational integration) and the Institutional Support and Strengthening Programme are based.
88. The Productive Retraining Support Programme is an initiative of the national Government, with IDB support. Its main objectives are:
(a) To support the productive retraining process, increasing the supply of semi-skilled workers in occupations where the workforce is insufficient or inadequate;
(b) To make it easier for individuals facing problems of marginality or exclusion from the labour market to find work and participate in society.
89. The objective of the Image Project is to provide support to persons who have been employed and have an occupation, but cannot find a job. Free, short-term courses are offered in an attempt to improve their chances of finding work. These courses are being taught by specialized institutions in the Federal Capital, Greater Buenos Aires and Tucumán Province. The target population is as follows:
(a) Women and men aged 16 and over;
(b) Unemployed persons or persons with employment problems;
(c) Persons with skills who have difficulties getting into the labour market.
90. Entities offering counselling and training include the National Employment Offices.
91. The Image Project management report states that the first call for international public bids for the teaching of 350 courses for 7,000 individuals took place in the Federal Capital, the Buenos Aires metropolitan area (districts of Avellaneda, Lanús, Lomas de Zamora, Morón, La Matanza, Tres de Febrero, San Martín, Vicente López and San Isidro) and Tucumán Province. The courses were due to begin by 3 August 1995. The staff of the State Placement Agency of the Federal Capital and of the provincial and municipal employment agencies were trained as well.
92. The objective of the occupational training component of the Institutional Support and Strengthening Programme is to strengthen the National Employment Network, to set up a guidance and information system that will facilitate entry into the various training components created by the programme and to provide persons trained by the programme with mediation services for finding jobs. With a view to launching the occupational training component, a situational survey and analysis of the National Network of Employment Services has been carried out and activities related to its development are under way.
Employment contracts, including those promoted by National Employment Act No. 24.013 and the employment programmes launched by the Ministry of Labour
93. Indefinite employment contract
(a) Regulatory law: Act No. 20.744 (original text 1976), section III, chapter I, articles 90 to 92;
(b) Definition: This is the basic form of employment contract. All others are considered to be modifications of it. All employment contracts are presumed to be indefinite contracts, unless they are shown to have a special status (construction, rural, etc.) or to conform to a type limiting their duration;
(c) Duration: This type of contract lasts until the worker retires or resigns. The right to stability is not absolute, as early termination must be compensated by a payment proportionate to the person's seniority in the job. The law provides for various forms of compensation for workers who are dismissed, die or become disabled and in the event of the employer's bankruptcy or death. The compensation increases considerably for anyone dismissed because of marriage or pregnancy;
(d) Hours of work: 48 working hours per week or 8 hours per day, except for night work and hazardous work. A 6-hour daily or 36-hour weekly shift is established for minors, for whom night work is prohibited;
(e) Pay: The general provisions laid down in the Employment Contract Act are applicable;
(f) Contributions: The general regime applies;
(g) Termination: Termination may occur as a result of worker-related causes (resignation, disability, retirement or death), employer-related causes (dismissal with or without cause, due to an act of God or to a lack or reduction of work, bankruptcy or death) or by common consent; in the case of dismissal without cause, the employer is obliged to compensate the worker through the payment of an indemnity, which is in proportion to the worker's seniority;
(h) Form: No particular form is required for the validity of the contract, as all that is needed is an agreement between worker and employer;
(i) Working conditions: All persons may be hired under this type, without discrimination as to sex or age. Minors between 14 and 18 years of age must have the consent of their guardians and, if necessary, of the school authorities;
(j) Other specifications: For the work of minors, equality of remuneration, apprenticeships and vocational guidance are established and governed either by current provisions or by provisions to be issued subsequently. The work of women, in which discriminatory treatment is prohibited and maternity protected, is also regulated.
94. Fixed-term employment contract
(a) Regulatory law: Act No. 20.744 (1976), section III, chapter II, articles 93 to 95;
(b) Definition: This type of contract is valid for the duration of the agreed period;
(c) Duration: Until the end of the agreed period, which may not exceed five years;
(d) Hours of work: The general provisions apply;
(e) Pay: The general rules apply;
(g) Termination: In order to terminate the contract, the employer must provide not less than one month, but no more than two months', prior notice, except for contracts of less than one month's duration. Dismissals without cause that occur before the end of the agreed period entitle the worker, in addition to the appropriate compensation for termination of the contract, to compensation for damages under ordinary law;
(h) Form: The duration of the contract must be established expressly and in writing;
(i) Working conditions: There are no specific requirements;
(j) Other specifications: When the contract terminates upon prior notice and it has been in force for the entire period, the employer must pay the worker compensation equivalent to half of the amount to which he would be entitled in case of dismissal without cause, prior to the end of the period, as long as it has not been less than one year.
95. Seasonal employment contract
(a) Regulatory law: Act No. 20.744 (1976), section III, chapter III, articles 96 to 98;
(b) Definition: This type of contract is concluded when the relationship between the parties, based on ongoing needs of the enterprise or operation, occurs only at certain times of the year and is likely to be repeated in each cycle due to the nature of the activity;
(c) Duration: Although the work performed under this type of contract is discontinuous, these are contracts of indefinite length and therefore with no pre-determined duration;
(d) Hours of work: The general rules apply;
(g) Termination: The rules for indefinite employment contracts apply. However, in the case of dismissal without cause, where the periods usually corresponding to the cycle or season have not expired, the employer must pay compensation for dismissal without cause, in addition to damages arising under ordinary law;
(h) Form: No specific form is required;
(j) Other specifications: Prior to the start of each season, the worker must indicate his willingness to take on the post or job, in which case the employer will be responsible for the consequences of termination if he does not agree to renew the working relationship.
96. Temporary employment contract:
(a) Regulatory law: Act No. 20.744 (1976), section III, chapter IV, articles 99 to 100;
(b) Definition: This type of contract covers workers' activities undertaken to achieve specific results which have been anticipated by the employer in relation to pre-determined special services or to special temporary requirements of the firm, as long as a definite period cannot be predicted for the completion of the contract. Under this type of contract, workers may not be hired to replace workers who have stopped working because of labour union activities. If the firm has dismissed or suspended employees owing to a lack or reduction of work during the prior six months, it may not replace the persons affected by those measures by means of this type of contract;
(c) Duration: The contract ends upon completion of the work, the performance of the activity or the provision of the services for which the worker was hired;
(f) Contributions: The general rules apply;
(g) Termination: The contract is considered terminated when the job for which the worker was hired is completed and the employer is not obliged to give any prior notice;
(h) Form: There are no formal requirements. The employer is responsible for proving that he has hired under this type of contract;
(j) Other specifications: If the purpose of the temporary contract is temporarily to replace permanent workers of the firm on legal or conventional leave or who are entitled to hold onto their post indefinitely, the name of the worker being replaced must be cited in the contract. If, when the replaced worker returns, the hired worker continues to provide services, this contract becomes one of indefinite duration. The same applies if he continues in the post once the leave ends. Should the purpose of the contract be to meet special market requirements, the contract should clearly state what those requirements are. The duration of the situation giving rise to these contracts may not exceed six months per year, up to a maximum of one year, over a three-year period.
97. Group or team-work employment contract:
(a) Regulatory law: Act No. 20.744 (1976), section III, chapter V, articles 101 to 102;
(b) Definition: This type of contract is concluded by an employer with a group of workers who, acting through a delegate or representative, undertake to provide the services required for the employer's activity. The employer has the same duties and obligations with regard to each member of the group as an individual concerning restrictions on the nature of the tasks and the makeup of the group;
(c) Duration: This type of contract may be concluded for either an indefinite or a fixed period of time;
(e) Pay: If the agreement is a collective one, the workers are entitled to be paid the amount corresponding to their contribution to the outcome of the work;
(g) Termination: The applicable rules are those of the indefinite or fixed-term contract, as appropriate;
(h) Form: There are no formal requirements;
(j) Other specifications: If a worker leaves the group, the representative must replace him, proposing a new member for approval by the employer, if the nature of the tasks and skills so requires. The worker leaving the group is entitled to be paid for his share of the work already performed.
New types of contracts
98. In order to promote employment, Act No. 24.013, adopted in 1991, provides for new types of contracts, called "promoted" contracts. The types of contracts "promoted" by the National Employment Act are:
(a) Employment contract for a specified period, as a means of encouraging employment;
(b) Employment contract for the launching of a new activity;
(c) Work-experience employment contract for young people;
(d) Work training contract.
99. The following rules apply to these four types:
(a) The principle of equal treatment applies both for permanent workers and for those hired under such contracts;
(b) "Promoted" contracts are to be executed through collective labour agreements. Such agreements are to be formalized in a special instrument approved by the Ministry of Labour;
(c) These contracts must be prepared in written form, with copies distributed to the worker and to the labour union that represents him within 30 days. Within the same period, the worker must register the contract with the Consolidated Labour Registry Service;
(d) The employer must inform the appropriate labour union of its intention to hire under these contracts;
(e) The implementing authority monitors compliance with the legal requirements, either on its own or through labour union bodies;
(f) The total number of workers hired under these contracts may not exceed 30 per cent of the permanent staff of each establishment. Firms with between 6 and 25 workers may hire up to 50 per cent of such workers; those with not more than 5 workers, 100 per cent;
(g) If the employer does not comply with any of the legal requirements, the contracts concluded under such procedures will be converted into indefinite employment contracts;
(h) The number of persons hired must exceed the total average staff number of the previous six months;
(i) Contracts may not be concluded under such procedures by firms which have effected collective dismissals for any reason in the 12 months prior to conclusion of the contracts and subsequent to the adoption of the National Employment Act or which have been involved in collective disputes, unless otherwise agreed during collective bargaining or unless there was just cause for dismissal;
(j) The employer may not collectively suspend or dismiss workers during the six months following conclusion of a contract under such procedures;
(k) The employer must give 30 days' prior notice of termination of the contract or pay compensation equivalent to one-half month's wages for contracts not exceeding one year or equivalent to one month's wages for contracts exceeding one year;
(l) Upon completion of "promoted" contracts, except for work-experience contracts for young people and work-training contracts, the employer must pay one-half month's wages, as well as compensation in lieu of prior notice, if no prior notice was given;
(m) If the contract is broken prior to its expiration date, the employer must pay the compensation provided for in the Employment Contract Act, plus damages under ordinary law.
100. Employment contract for a specified period, as a means of encouraging employment:
(a) Regulatory law: National Employment Act No. 24.013, articles 43 to 46;
(b) Definition: This type of contract is concluded between employers and workers registered as unemployed with the Employment Services Network or who have stopped working in the public sector as a result of administrative streamlining;
(c) Duration: The contract must indicate its duration, which may not be less than 6 months or more than 18 months (including renewals). Renewals must be for periods of at least six months. In conformity with article 108 of the National Employment Act, the minimum duration may be three months if the employer is the national, provincial or municipal Government, as part of an occupational emergency programme;
(d) Hours of work: The rules of the Employment Contract Act apply;
(e) Pay: The rules of the Employment Contract Act apply;
(f) Contributions: Enterprises hiring under this procedure are exempt from 50 per cent of employer contributions;
(g) Termination: See general provisions;
(h) Form: The general provisions apply;
(i) Working conditions: Unemployed workers registered with the Employment Services Network, including those who have stopped working in the public sector as a result of administrative streamlining, may be hired under this procedure;
(j) Other specifications: Firms may not use this procedure to fill posts that have remained vacant during the previous six months, except where authorized by collective bargaining or the administrative authority.
101. Employment contract for a specified period to launch a new activity:
(a) Regulatory law: National Employment Act No. 24.013, articles 47 to 50;
(b) Definition: This type of contract is concluded between employers and workers for services to be provided in a new establishment or on a new production line of an existing establishment;
(c) Duration: The contract must be concluded for a minimum of 6 months and a maximum of 24 months, including renewals, which, once agreed upon, will be for a minimum of 6 months. Regardless of the date on which they are concluded, these contracts are to terminate four years after the start of the new activity;
(d) Hours of work: The provisions of the Employment Contract Act apply;
(e) Pay: The provisions of the Employment Contract Act apply;
(f) Contributions: Firms hiring workers under this procedure are exempt from 50 per cent of employer contributions;
(h) Form: See general provisions;
(j) Other specifications: Firms concluding this type of contract may not collectively suspend or dismiss workers from the former establishments or production lines during the year following conclusion of contracts under this procedure without good cause. Otherwise, the new contracts are to be converted into indefinite contracts.
102. Work experience contracts for young people
(a) Regulatory law: National Employment Act No. 24.013, articles 51 to 57;
(b) Definition: This type of contract is concluded between employers and young people up to age 24 with previous training who are seeking their first job for the purpose of applying and improving their skills;
(c) Duration: This type of contract lasts one year;
(f) Contributions: Firms are exempt from 100 per cent of employer contributions;
(i) Working conditions: The worker must prove he has had the technical, occupational or work training for this type of work experience, by means of a certificate recognized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security. Any certificate accepted by the Ministry of Education will automatically be recognized by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security;
(j) Other specifications: The employer must furnish a certificate of the termination of the contract stating the experience which was acquired on the job and is to be validated by the relevant administrative authority.
103. Work-training contract:
(a) Regulatory law: National Employment Act No. 24.013, articles 58 to 65;
(b) Definition: This type of contract is concluded between employers and young people under age 24 without previous training who are seeking their first job, for the purpose of acquiring theoretical and practical training to use on the job;
(c) Duration: This type of contract may be concluded for a minimum of four months and a maximum of two years;
(d) Hours of work: The Ministry of Labour and Social Security must draw up a general plan for alternating training and work, with which these contracts must comply. The work is to be done on the firm's premises. The training is to take place in the firm, provided that it has a specialized centre for that purpose; if not, it is to be conducted by a competent body (section V, chapter 1, of Act No. 24.013). Between one fourth and one half of the worktime should be spent on training, although the time spent on training may either be concentrated or alternated with the actual work in the firm;
(e) Pay: The enterprise must remunerate the worker for the time spent on the job in the firm, while the National Employment Fund pays for the time spent on training;
(f) Contributions: Firms hiring workers under this procedure are exempt from 100 per cent of employer contributions;
(i) Working conditions: To be under 24 years of age and lack previous training;
(j) Other specifications: Once the contract is ended, the firm must furnish a certificate stating the experience acquired on the job and the training received by the worker, which is to be validated by the relevant administrative authority.
See annexes 1 and 2. Evaluations of Job Training Programme; 3. Geographical distribution of work-training contracts; 4. Evaluation of the Apprenticeship Contracts Programme; 5. Evaluation of the Vocational Training Programme. Activities for women; 6. Occupational workshops; see also annexes 7 and 8.
104. Argentina has ratified the following International Labour Organization conventions which are relevant to this article of the Covenant.
recorded on:
105. There have been no changes in the information on wage fixing since Argentina submitted its initial report; please refer to paragraphs 125 et seq. of that report.
106. As indicated in the information provided in Argentina's initial report, the minimum wage is defined by article 16 of the Employment Contract Act as "The lowest legal daily wage that may be paid in cash to workers with family responsibilities so as to ensure them adequate food, decent housing, education, clothing, health care, transport, leisure, holidays and social security". This definition corresponds to ILO Convention No. 26, adopted by the Argentine Republic through Act No. 13.560.
107. According to the Act, the following conditions apply to the minimum wage:
(a) It may not be seized, except in respect of debts for maintenance payments;
(b) No wage lower than the minimum wage may be paid except in the specific cases provided for by article 119 of the Act;
(c) It may be expressed as a monthly, daily or hourly amount;
(d) It applies to all workers aged over 18.
108. Articles 135 to 138 of the Employment Act established the National Council on Employment, Productivity and an Index-Linked Minimum Living Wage. The Council's functions include periodically setting the minimum index-linked living wage (article 136 (a)); three main factors determine the minimum wage: the economic situation, the Council's objectives; and a reasonable balance between these two factors.
Normative framework for the implementation of the principle of equality and non-discrimination
109. The social, cultural, political and economic changes which have had a deep impact both in Argentina and throughout the world in recent decades have been closely linked to women's growing participation in society. Social awareness of discrimination has also developed, giving rise to debates, studies and research on the topic.
110. In 1956, ILO Convention No. 100, Equal Remuneration Convention, 1951, was approved by Act No. 14.467. Argentine legislation contains a specific act on the subject, Act No. 20.392 of 16 May 1973, which refers to the equal worth of work performed by women, stating that: "There shall be no distinction in remuneration for work of equal value performed by men and women". It also states that: "Any provision to the contrary in a collective labour agreement entered into or renewed after the date of entry into force of this Act shall be null and void".
111. Argentina adopted the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by means of Act No. 23.179 of 1985. In view of the new rights recognized under the constitutional reform and in conformity with article 75, paragraph 22, the Convention has constitutional status. Article 14 bis of the Constitution extends the protection of the law to the various forms of work and guarantees, inter alia, the right to equal pay for equal work.
112. The National Council for Women was set up in March 1991; it now ranks as a Secretariat of State and serves to ensure compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. Moreover, article 75, paragraph 23, of the Constitution authorizes the National Congress to take affirmative action on behalf of women to ensure that they actually enjoy equal opportunities and treatment and the full exercise of the rights recognized by the Constitution and international treaties.
113. Article 172 of Employment Contract Act No. 20.744 states that: "Women may enter into any kind of contract of employment; neither collective bargaining agreements nor approved regulations may authorize any form of discrimination in employment based on sex or marital status, even if the latter changes in the course of employment. Any collective bargaining agreements or wage rates introduced shall ensure full compliance with the principle of equal pay for equal work". Article 81 further stipulates that: "Employers shall treat all workers equally in situations that are identical. Unequal treatment shall be deemed to exist when there is arbitrary discrimination on grounds of sex, religion or race, but not when different treatment is in keeping with principles of the common good, such as that based on the efficiency, industriousness and devotion to duty of workers".
114. In March 1995, the National Congress adopted the Employment Development Act. For the purpose of issue under consideration, contracts concluded under the Act entitle employers to a 50 per cent reduction in contributions, with the exception of welfare contributions.
Women in the labour market
115. In recent years, the female labour force participation ratio in Argentina has increased considerably. From only 21.9 per cent of the labour force in 1960, the share of women rose to 36.1 per cent by 1991 (according to the National Population and Housing Censuses for 1960 and 1991). This trend is confirmed by another source: while the female labour force participation ratio in Greater Buenos Aires was 32.8 per cent in 1980, it rose to 38 per cent by 1994, a 16 per cent increase.
116. Women's growing participation in the labour market is the result of two main factors. The first is economic trends: within an expanding and resolutely outward-oriented economy, female participation ratios will rise as demand for labour increases and the opportunity cost of women's time outside the labour market increases. The second is that, as more women enter the labour market, there is a marked change in attitudes towards and about women (particularly married women) from the standpoint of men's shared responsibility for household chores and child care. Another indicator of possible trends in the female activity ratio is to be found in the experience of other economies. In view of female activity and participation ratios in other parts of the world, it is likely that the supply of female labour on the Argentine labour market will increase in the coming years.
Direct policy measures
117. The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has carried out a range of employment and vocational training programmes financed by the National Employment Fund, established by title VIII of Act No. 24.013 and made up of contributions and other resources. The programmes implemented in 1994 and 1995 include the following: the Intensive Labour Programme (PIT), the Social Focus Programme (PROEDIS), the National Internship Programme (PRONAPAS) and the Social Focus Programme (PRIDIS). Women participated in all of these programmes in varying degrees.
118. As far as the first programme is concerned, the rate of female participation was only 14.2 per cent in some provinces, while in others (Formosa, La Rioja and the city of Buenos Aires), it was as high as 35.5 per cent; the rate is improving year by year. PROEDIS, which funds work on community-interest projects, has focused on building projects, which is why the level of participation by women is low. It nevertheless reached 50 per cent in some provinces. PRIDIS is a programme designed to optimize the resources assigned by national agencies participating in the social plan to provide public works and services. A total of 39 per cent of the posts financed by the Ministry under this Programme were held by women. PRONAPAS, which began in November 1994, had a total enrolment of 4,300 internees at the end of the year, 30 per cent of whom were women. In some provinces, however, more internships were assigned to women, who occupied 60 per cent of the posts available.
119. In 1994, through agreements Nos. 333 and 334, the Employment Guidance Service for Women (SOLAM) was set up under an existing agreement between the Ministry of Labour and the National Council for Women. SOLAM's purpose is to provide ad hoc guidance, information and advice for women seeking employment or career development. It is also designed to provide means of actively and permanently seeking information on work and vocational training and to establish inter-agency networks for managing programmes and measures designed to improve the situation of working women. It involves young and adult women who wish to work for the first time or to return to work after a long period outside the labour market, as well as unemployed women. The coordinating agencies draw up agreements for joining SOLAM in each province. At the beginning of this year, SOLAM had 57 offices operating in the provinces of Misiones, Jujuy and Santa Fe and 82 employment counsellors had been trained. There are plans to continue SOLAM and extend it to other provinces and towns.
120. These policies also include the Youth Project, which is designed to provide training for young people of both sexes in order to improve their chances of finding work while supporting the growth of firms that need skilled labour, by providing free semi-skilled vocational training. The Project is part of the national Productive Retraining Support Programme, which began in 1992 and is jointly operated by the Ministries of Labour and Finance.
121. Responsibility for providing the training courses and internships lies with training institutes which call for tenders after having prepared their bids jointly with industrial firms. The fourth call for tenders is currently under way and the most up-to-date information on the level of participation by women corresponds to activities under the second call for tenders. At that stage, women accounted for approximately 50 per cent of participants and, in terms of choice of subject, there was an improvement in their choice of non-traditional activities (a larger number of female participants chose such courses). As a result, women were present in virtually all the courses offered.
122. Machinery was established specifically to increase the quality of participation by women through meetings with training institutes, the National Council of Women and various firms and the preparation of information kits for women.
Indirect policy measures
123. Title IV of Act No. 24.013 established a comprehensive system of unemployment benefits for all employees whose employment contract is governed by the Employment Contract Act; it defines conditions of access, the necessary period of contributions, the level of benefits, additional benefits and the obligations of employers and beneficiaries. These benefits are financed by the National Employment Fund and 23.6 per cent of the beneficiaries of unemployment insurance are women (see annexes, 9, 10 and 11).
124. Argentina has ratified the following International Labour Organization conventions which are relevant to this article of the Covenant.
125. With regard to the provisions of article 8 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, article 14 bis of the Argentine Constitution stipulates that "Work in its various forms shall enjoy the protection of the law, which shall guarantee the worker ... free and democratic trade union organization subject to no other formality than registration in a special register". The Argentine legal system reaffirms this constitutional principle and the relevant international provisions and regulates the establishment, operation and activities of workers' trade unions in Act No. 23.551, promulgated by the Executive on 14 April 1988 and published in the Boletín Oficial on 22 April 1988, and its enabling Decree No. 467/88 of 14 April 1988.
126. The first section of the Act which relates to the protection of trade union freedom, embodies the constitutional principle of "free and democratic trade union organization subject to no other formality than registration in a special register" (article 14 bis). The Act incorporates the content of the relevant international agreements which have been ratified, particularly ILO Conventions Nos. 87, 98, 151 and 154.
127. Article 4 of the Act determines to which rights workers are and are not entitled and its first subparagraph sets forth the right "freely and without the need for prior authorization to form trade union associations". Workers have the right to establish or found trade unions "of their own choosing" (ILO Convention No. 87, art. 2). This implies dual protection both in respect of the State - there is no need for prior authorization to exercise the right to found a trade union - and in respect of employers, who are required to refrain from any form of interference intended to promote, impede or hinder workers' freedom to establish trade unions. On account of the special nature of trade unions, freedom to establish them is subject to regulation by the law, provided it does not impair this guarantee (ILO Convention No. 87, art. 8). The right of workers to found trade unions is comprehensive. Article 21 of the Act regulates the provisions of the Constitution in a reasonable manner and sets forth only formal requirements with which the application for registration has to comply. Trade unions are registered on submission to the Ministry of Labour of their application containing the following: (a) its name, address, assets and the background to its founding; (b) a list of members; (c) the names and nationality of the members of its governing organ; and (d) its statutes. The Labour Administration, which is the authority responsible for enforcing the Act checks the documentation submitted and issues a decision authorizing registration and issuing a registration number. From the date of registration (which corresponds to the authorization referred to in article 55 in fine of the Civil Code), the association acquires the status of a legal person and may acquire rights and take on contractual obligations in conformity with the relevant provisions of Act. No. 23.551.
128. As to the right of membership, article 4 (b) of Act No. 23.551 recognizes the trade union right of workers to join, not to join or to leave existing associations, thereby giving effect under domestic law to the last part of article 2 of ILO Convention No. 87, in accordance with which "workers ... shall have the right ... to join organizations". This reflects the individual right of workers to withdraw from the trade union with or without reason. The right to join is regulated in detail by article 2 of decree No. 467/88, which lays down restrictive conditions for refusing membership on the following grounds: (a) failure to satisfy the formal requirements set forth in the statutes; (b) not being employed in the activity, occupation, trade, category or firm represented by the trade union; (c) expulsion from a trade union less than one year previously; (d) having been indicted or convicted for an offence against a trade union. The Act stipulates that failure of the trade union to respond within a period of 30 days entails its acceptance of the application for membership.
129. The regulations provide that a decision to refuse membership must be taken through the association's internal procedure and the governing body is required to set the facts before the decision-making organ, with provision for appeal to the labour courts. They also relate to the procedure for giving up trade union membership, requiring such decisions to be taken by the governing body within 30 days; the absence of a response on its part signifies acceptance of the application to give up membership and means that the worker may inform the employer of his decision so that his membership contributions may no longer be withheld from his salary; if the employer refuses or proves reluctant, the worker has the right to refer the matter to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security.
130. In chapter II entitled "On joining and giving up membership", articles 12 to 15 of Act No. 23.551 define the right to join in positive term as the right to become a member of an association. According to article 12, "Membership of trade union associations shall be open, in accordance with this Act and its statutes, which must be in conformity with the Act". This right is protected by the provisions of article 47 of the Act, which protects all workers or trade union associations prevented or hindered from normally exercising the right to take part in trade union activity. In addition, article 53 defines unfair practices on the part of employers as any form of conduct contrary to the ethics of professional labour relations and constituting a collective offence committed by an employer or employers' organization. Such unfair practices are defined in paragraph (c) as obstructing, hindering or preventing workers from belonging to an association governed by the regulations and in paragraph (d) as encouraging or sponsoring their membership of a particular trade union association. Article 54 determines the grounds for legal action to penalize unlawful conduct. Article 55 sets forth the legal consequences and the range of penalties applicable to persons guilty of the collective offence. By defining unfair practices, article 53 offers one means of protecting trade union activity. All such means are based on the principle of trade union freedom.
131. The only grounds for refusing an application for membership contained in the statutes of trade unions are those listed in article 2 of decree No. 467/88.
132. The right to found trade unions is no longer restricted to a particular category of workers, such as Government or private employees, as was the case under all previous legislation. No distinction is made between office and industrial workers or manual and intellectual workers; a single trade union composed of executives (hierarchy), shop-floor workers, professionals and blue-collar and white-collar workers may thus be formed. The right freely and autonomously to found trade unions is interpreted broadly.
133. The Act requires members to be aged at least 14 and anyone who applies to join a professional association of workers has to be a worker employed in the activity in question or in an activity related to that of the trade union to which he applies or must exercise the trade, profession or skill represented by the trade union or provide services in the firm whose workers have formed a trade union association, in conformity with the requirements of article 10 (c) of the Act.
134. The Act uses the modern-day term "worker", which covers manual and intellectual workers in the private sector and in the State sector. Separate conceptualization of the term "public employee" as distinct from the term "worker" has always been without practical implications for the trade unionism of State workers, as the structuring of trade unions for State workers took place alongside that of other associations and their right to form trade unions has never been called into question. There is no reason why a trade union should not exercise collective rights such as collective bargaining, the right to strike and other means of conflict resolution. Article 10 of the Act refers to the types of trade union associations that may exist: "The following shall be considered trade union associations of workers: those formed by (a) the workers of a single activity or related activities; (b) workers exercising the same trade or profession or in the same category, even if they are employed in different branches; (c) workers providing services within the same firm". The Act does not introduce any innovations in types of trade union and does not require them to reapply for legal status, but it does introduce a legislative policy which is designed to influence trade union structure in future and which is limited to the requirements for granting trade union status.
135. A characteristic phenomenon of recent decades has been the establishment of unions representing the same occupation or professional trade unions, known as executive staff unions, a term used in comparative labour theory. An example is the metal workers' trade union for shop-floor workers and the union representing supervisors in the metal industry. The unionization of workers in the same occupation and of professional staff jointly or separately was characteristic of State employees, particularly in State enterprises, although such trade unions also exist in the private sector. The current Act, No. 23.551, has abolished the restriction under the previous Act, No. 22.105, barring joint membership of shop-floor workers and supervisory staff in the same trade union.
136. In the exercise of trade union freedom, workers are entitled to establish any of the types of trade union indicated in article 10 of Act No. 23.551. A trade union representing a variety of trades is the only kind not allowed by the Act and its registration may be refused on these grounds.
137. Current Argentine legislation respects trade union rights and places no restrictions on workers who, in the exercise of their rights, decide to establish a trade union. No minimum number of members is required for a trade union association to be granted registration.
138. The right to form federations is expressly provided for in Act No. 23.551. The rights which workers may collectively exercise include the right to "adopt the type of organization they deem appropriate, to approve its statutes and to form higher-level associations, to affiliate themselves to those that exist or to withdraw from them ..." (art. 5). Article 5 of decree No. 467/88 regulating article 12 of the Act stipulates that "Federations may not refuse applications for membership from associations of the first level representing workers by activity, trade, occupation or category specified in the regulations of the federation concerned. Likewise, confederations may not refuse federations, unions and professional associations that meet the requirements provided for in the regulations of the confederation concerned. Trade union associations at the second and third levels may cancel the membership of affiliated trade union associations only by means of a decision adopted by a secret ballot of 65 per cent of the delegates present during an extraordinary congress convened for the purpose. Trade union associations may withdraw from those at the higher level to which they belong, without any restriction."
139. In chapter I entitled "Forms of trade union associations", article 11 of the Act lists the types of trade union associations according to level: "Trade union associations may take one or more of the following forms: (a) Unions of various types; (b) federations of associations of the first level; (c) confederations which group associations covered by the preceding subparagraphs".
140. The terms used in the Act are not binding on workers; unions may describe themselves as associations or unions, but it should be stressed that, whatever terms are used, the principles of trade union freedom, autonomy and internal democracy must be respected. The choice of form of organization depends on the workers. Whatever the structure, it must comply with the principles and procedures of internal democracy; freedom to join must be allowed by associations at the first and second levels and provision must be made for right to withdraw or resign.
141. In conformity with the provisions of article 20 of the Act the deliberative body must "approve ... affiliation to or withdrawal from national or international associations ...". Article 18 of decree No. 467/88 regulating article 20 of the Act stipulates that "Except as provided in article 36 of this Act, membership of national or foreign associations whose statutes authorize them to participate in the management, administration or handling of the property of their members shall be prohibited".
142. Annexes 12 to 31 contain tables showing data on the number and structure of trade unions established in Argentina and on their composition.
143. Argentina's Single Social Security System provides for old age, disability, survivors', industrial accident, unemployment and family allowance benefits. The social insurance subsystem is funded primarily by payments and contributions (11 and 16 per cent, respectively) and by tax revenue.
Social insurance payments
Average pension scheme assets
144. The average assets of the social insurance system increased by 8.4 cent between 1993 and 1995. The figures for social security expenditure as a percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) are given below on the basis of information prepared by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security:
Year Percentage
1993 7.0
1994 7.0
1995 6.7
145. According to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security, the share of social security expenditure in total expenditure in the Argentine public sector is as follows. In 1985, 17.1 per cent of expenditure in the Argentine public sector was destined for social security. As can be seen, a rise occurred, due mainly to two factors: an increase in the number of beneficiaries, from 2,743,000 in December 1985 to 3,261,000 in July 1995; and the recognition by the State of the debts built up during the years when the guidelines for indexation of incomes laid down in applicable legislation were not respected, as adjustment mechanisms were used which tied the total payments to available resources.
146. There are groups in the population for which participation in the social insurance system is difficult, since they form a marginal group with low incomes, poor levels of education and a poor degree of integration with the rest of society because they live in extremely poor urban areas (slums) or in rural areas (small farmers, smallholders, labourers without permanent jobs, etc.). In order to provide assistance and redistribute incomes, the State has instituted what are known as discretionary or non-contributory benefits. These are old age or disability allowances designed to help the worst off and covering those in a situation of relative poverty who have not made the contributions needed to give rise to an ordinary pension.
147. Since 1991, another vulnerable group has also benefited from protection - mothers with seven or more children. It should be noted that unmet demand for this type of allowance is substantial and there is every reason to think that, in the future, the number of cases handled will continue to rise (see annex 35, Public expenditure on social security as a percentage of GDP; annex 36, Share of social security expenditure in total public expenditure; annex 37, Share of public expenditure on social matters in total public expenditure; and annex 38, Public expenditure on social matters as a percentage of GDP).
(figures in December of each year)
148. In welfare matters, women enjoy the same treatment under the law as men, although ordinary pensions are payable to women five years earlier, at age 60 instead of age 65.
149. The following data from the 1990 population census were supplied by the National Statistics and Census Institute:
150. Some of the efforts under way on issues within the field of competence of the Social Security Secretariat in the Ministry of Labour and Social Security are directed towards the drafting of bills to ensure better coverage of the sectors involved, including:
(a) Special arrangements. Act No. 24.241 on the Integrated System of Pensions, which has been in force since October 1993, authorizes the Executive (article 157) to propose a list of activities which merit special legislative treatment because they involve risks for workers or premature exhaustion of their capacity to work or special situations. In this area, an analysis was carried out of currently applicable special arrangements and a list was prepared of activities which should continue to enjoy special treatment in terms of social insurance in view of the characteristics of such activities and the circumstances in which they are carried out. Of particular importance are heavy labour, work carried out in special conditions of isolation from the workers' families or society and work involving especially arduous, toxic, hazardous or unhealthy conditions. Among these, mention is made of tasks in mining, slaughtering and butchering of animals, oil and gas exploration, steel making, foundry work and forging and waste collection in the Antarctic or the islands of the South Atlantic, etc.;
(b) The blind and disabled also receive special treatment because of their special circumstances, in acknowledgement of the fact that they have to exert a greater effort to perform certain tasks than the able-bodied. Consequently, efforts are made to compensate them by modifying the age requirements and number of years of service needed to receive social insurance benefits;
(c) Domestic servants and rural workers. In order to extend the protection afforded by the social insurance system to a larger number of persons, efforts are under way to analyse the specific characteristics of certain groups of workers who, though referred to in the legislation, are for the most part not included in the social insurance system in practice as contributors. This applies to domestic employees or domestic servants - 98 per cent of whom are women - and rural workers. In general, they have low incomes and very little stability of employment, so that it is a complex matter to devise appropriate machinery to encourage them to make regular contributions in order to enjoy the benefits of social security subsequently. In April 1996, Act No. 24.463 was adopted. Inter alia, it introduced reforms in the social insurance legislation, in chapter I.
151. The changes made are the following:
(a) National public social insurance systems involve assisted distribution on the basis of the solidarity principle;
(b) The State guarantees the granting and payment of benefits up to the amount of the budget appropriations expressly committed for financing under the Budget Act. The annual appropriations for funding the public welfare system may not be lower than those allocated in the previous year's budget;
(c) The Budget Act shall determine the minimum and maximum levels of the benefits under the public social insurance system; no beneficiary may receive benefits in excess of the legally determined maximum;
(d) The benefits shall be indexed as determined annually by the Budget Act in accordance with the appropriate calculation of resources. They may be distributed in a differentiated manner in order to raise the minimum benefits;
(e) Those in receipt of benefits under the public welfare system may resume paid work in either an employed or a self-employed capacity.
152. Chapter II of the Act provides for a reform of the legal aspects of social security. This reform governs legal challenges to actions taken by the National Social Security Administration:
(a) The Administration's decisions can be challenged in the federal administrative courts in Buenos Aires and in provincial courts. The case follows the rules of summary procedure. The Administration is the defendant and the court will be authorized to hear the case without the need for an application for a remedy to the court in whose jurisdiction the head office of the Administration falls;
(b) The Administration may in its defence cite insufficient funds under the distribution arrangements to cover the additional expenditure which acceptance of the claim would entail;
(c) The National Social Security Appeal Court established under Act No. 23.473 becomes the Federal Social Security Court. It shall hear appeals against judgements issued by the courts mentioned above, among other matters;
(d) The final judgements of the Federal Court shall be appealable before the Supreme Court by general remedy and the decisions of the Supreme Court shall be binding on lower courts;
(e) Coercive judgements against the Administration shall be enforced within 90 days of their notification, up to the point where the budgetary resources allocated for the purpose for the fiscal year in which the time limit expires are exhausted. Once these resources are exhausted, enforcement shall be suspended until the beginning of the fiscal year for which new budgetary resources to fund enforcement of court decisions are to be approved.
See the annexed tables giving a breakdown of beneficiaries by sex, nationality and age ranges.
Employment
153. The Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment (No. 138) entered into force in Argentina in June 1996.
Marriage
154. The Civil Code and legislation amending it contain guarantees of the right of men and women to marry of their own free will and to create a family. Article 172 of the Civil Code, as amended by Act. No. 23.515, provides that: "Full and free consent expressed in person by man and woman before an authority empowered to solemnize civil marriage is essential for such a marriage to exist". Act No. 23.515 changed the age required for marriage to 16 for women and 18 for men.
155. In the case of minors below the minimum age required for marriage, this impediment can be overcome only with court authorization, even when parental permission is forthcoming. This is what is known as a judicial dispensation. Articles 167 and 168 of the Civil Code provide as follows:
156. On this point, it should be noted that Argentina has acceded to the 1957 New York Convention prohibiting marriage by proxy and has amended domestic legislation so as to permit marriage at a distance:
Protection of the family
157. There is no specific legislation in Argentina which facilitates the creation of a family, subsidies or installation grants to promote housing or other benefits, notwithstanding the policies to promote and strengthen family life pursued by family protection bodies.
158. In 1990, the Council for Minors and the Family was set up under Executive Decree No. 1606, with the following functions:
(a) To plan, organize and carry out the policy for the all-round promotion of minors and the family within the framework of existing provisions, the general principles of the law governing minors and the social policies laid down by the Ministry of Health and Social Action;
(b) To adopt the necessary measures to contribute to strengthening the family, through guidance and support;
(c) To coordinate participation by public agencies, non-governmental organizations and neighbourhood and public-interest bodies in general in the planning, implementation and replication of local and regional activities aimed at the all-round promotion of and guidance for families and all their members;
(d) To foster the expansion of research and training relating to minors and the family.
159. The measures taken by the Council to sustain, strengthen and protect the family include:
(a) The prevention programme for families receiving assistance (decision No. 2742/83):
(i) Objectives: (1) to plan for critical situations which affect the integration of family groups and their ability to provide care, when such situations arise from the decisive or contributory influence of adverse economic factors; (2) to prevent the separation of the under-age members of the family nucleus, when the family retains a capacity to provide education and care and the performance of its functions is being affected by economic difficulties; (3) to encourage the discharge of minors from the institutions in which they have been placed when such placement is due mainly to economic problems facing their parents rather than imperatives regarding their treatment;
(ii) Eligibility: This programme may be applied to family groups which, while retaining a capacity to care for their members, especially those who are minors, are facing family crises or a high risk of such crises caused, exacerbated or precipitated by a drop in or absence of income to meet their basic needs.
This programme grants families at risk financial assistance for each minor child, in addition to an allowance for the father, mother, guardian or legal representative. Provision is also made for a special allowance to overcome an acute financial crisis affecting the family or to be used to purchase machinery or tools to enable the family to start up a small productive enterprise;
(b) Emergency allowances programme for housing problems (decision No. 17/81):
(i) Aims: (1) To prevent the break-up of the family group by providing temporary emergency resources to rehouse homeless family groups with serious financial problems or under immediate threat of becoming homeless; (2) to help the family overcome its crisis and to recover its self-sufficiency; (3) to facilitate the removal of minors from placement when the main reason for their placement is the family group's housing problem; (4) to prevent the placement of young adults when homelessness is the only reason for it, thereby facilitating diagnosis in order to direct them towards other forms of treatment;
Maternity leave
160. The Employment Contract Act (No. 20.744), as amended by Act No. 21.824, provides for 45 days' maternity leave before delivery and 45 days after: article 177 of the Act states that:
"Female employees shall be prohibited from working for 45 days before delivery and for up to 45 days after. Nevertheless, the person concerned may choose to shorten her leave prior to delivery, although such leave may in no circumstances be less than 30 days and the remainder of the total period of leave shall be added to the period of leave following delivery. If the child is born prematurely, the whole period of leave not taken before delivery shall be added to the period of leave after delivery to make up the full 90 days.
Female employees shall inform their employer of their pregnancy and submit a medical certificate stating the date on which delivery is due or require that it be ascertained by the employer. The employee shall keep her job during the period in question and shall be entitled to any benefits due to her under the social security systems, which shall ensure that she receives an amount equal to the remuneration corresponding to the period of legal leave, in conformity with such requirements and other terms as are laid down by the relevant regulations.
During pregnancy, all women shall be entitled to job security, which shall be an acquired right from the time they provide the notification referred to in the preceding paragraph.
If the employee remains absent from work for a longer period on account of illness resulting from the pregnancy or the delivery, which is medically certified as incapacitating her from resuming work at the end of the period of leave, she shall be eligible for the benefits provided for in article 208 of this Act."
161. In October 1996, Congress adopted Act No. 24.716 introducing s