Domestic and Informal Work: Challenges for Formalization in Argentina

Abstract

Informality is a structural feature of the labour market in developing countries, particularly in Latin America. Historically, in Argentina, at least one third of working people were engaged in so-called informal activities. During the 1990s, the informality rate rose to 35 percent, climbing to 45 percent in 2002, after the 2011 economic crisis. Nowadays, as the result of various formalisation policies, the informality rate has decreased. Even thought, 34 percent of the working population can still be considered informal workers. Since 1991, Argentinian legislators have introduced many laws seeking to formalize the situation of these workers. Since then to now, formalization has become an important issue for legislation. However, the rationale underpinning this process of formalization changed during this period. Between 1991 and 2001, in accordance with the Washington Consensus and neoliberal policies developed, formalization and flexibility are considered part of the same equation. All the legislation enacted under the auspices of the Labour Reform process initiated in Argentina in the 1990s promote labor flexibility in classical ways: short-term contracts, part time jobs, internships, and different kind of subcontracting arrangements as the development of Temporary Employment Agencies or the promotion of self-employment. Since 2004, with the so-called "counter" Labour Reform, formalization has been used as a way to expand social protection. In line with the approach of the ILO, the main goal is to provide "decent work" to all workers. While the motives justifying the process of formalization seem clearly differentiated in the two periods, the way in which formalization was conceived by labor law and implemented is less clearly distinguished. This paper seeks to analyze, from a historical perspective, the different regulatory responses to informality adopted within Argentina since 1990.