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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
JAMES J. DAVIS, Secretary
BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
ETHELBERT STEWART, Commissioner
BULLETIN OF THE UNITED STATES \
XT
M A
BUREAU OF LABOR S T A T I S T I C S /................... l l O . O l U
FOREIGN LABOR LAWS SERIES
LABOR LEGISLATION
OF ARGENTINA
MARCH, 1930
UNITED STATES
GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
WASHINGTON : 1930
___
For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, Washington, D. C,
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-
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Price 20 cents
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
This translation of the labor laws of Argentina was made under
the direction of Ethel Y. Larson, of the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
ii
CONTENTS
Page
Introduction and summary__________________________________________
Text of labor legislation:
Workmen’s compensation—
Law of October 11, 1915____________________________________
Regulatory decree of January 14, 1916 (for Federal capital and
National Territories)_____________________________________
Decrees of April 30, 1917, November 12, 1917, May 21, 1918,
October 25, 1923, and November 20, 1923__________________
Provincial regulatory decrees—Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Entre
Rios, Jujuy, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Fe, and San
tiago del Estero___________________________ ______________
Accident prevention—agricultural machinery—
Decree of September 18, 1923_______________________________
Payment of wages in national currency—
Law of August 5, 1925_____________________________________
Provincial laws or decrees—Buenos Aires, Jujuy, and Santiago
del Estero________________________ ______________________
Attachment and assignment of salaries, wages, and retirement an
nuities—
Law of October 2, 1914.____________________________________
Home work—
Law of October 8, 1918 (for Federal capital and National Ter
ritories) _________________________________________________
Regulatory decree of December 30, 1918 (for Federal capital). . .
Eight-hour day—
Law of September 12, 1929_________________________________
Provincial laws—Cordoba, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan, San
Luis, Santa Fe, and Tucuman_____________________________
Sunday rest—
Law of September 6, 1905 (for Federal capital and National Ter
ritories)________________________________ ________________
Regulatory decree of March 1, 1926 (for Federal capital)______
Provincial laws—Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Entre
Rios, Jujuy, Mendoza, San Luis, Santa Fe, Santiago del
Estero, and Tucuman________ —. . . ________ —___——- ____
Prohibition of night work in bakeries—
Law of September 9, 1926_________________________ _________
Regulatory decree of November 29, 1926 (for Federal capital
and National Territories)_________________________________
Provincial regulatory decrees—Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Corrientes, La Rioja, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, and Tucuman_
Employment of women and minors—
Law of September 30, 1924________________________ - ________
Regulatory decree of May 28, 1925 (for Federal capital)_______
Regulatory decree of June 9, 1925 (for National Territories)___
Provincial regulatory decrees—Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Corrientes,
San Luis, Santa Fe, and Santiago del Estero_______________
Housing—
Law of October 5, 1915______________________ ______- ............
Regulatory decree of April 21, 1917______ __________ _________
Employment agencies—
Public agencies—
Law of September 25, 1913................. ................................. Private agencies—
Law of August 28, 1915________________________________
Public and private agencies—
Regulatory decree of November 9, 1915 (for Federal capital
and National Territories)__________ __________________
Provincial laws or decrees—Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Santa
Fe, and Tucuman__ _________________________________
in
1
9
13
26
27
28
28
29
30
30
33
36
37
40
40
46
46
47
47
48
51
51
52
53
55
62
63
64
67
Text of labor legislation— Continued.
Retirement annuities and pensions—
Civil employees—
Page
Law of September 20, 1904, as amended_________________
69
Railroad employees—
Law of April 16, 1919, as amended______________________
74
Regulatory decree of August 16, 1919___________________
82
Public service employees and workmen—
Law of February 11, 1921______________________________
84
Regulatory decree of June 30, 1923______________________
92
Bank employees—
Law of October 9, 1923_________________________________
95
Organic law of the Bank Employees’ National Retirement Fund,.
97
Prohibition of matches containing phosphorus—
Law of June 8, 1921________________________________________
105
Cooperative societies—
Law of December 20, 1926............ ................ ...............................
105
National and Provincial labor offices—
National Department of Labor—
Law of October 8, 1912_________________________________
107
108
Regulatory decree of January 2, 1913____________________
Provincial bureaus of labor—Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Corrientes,
Entre Rios, Mendoza, Salta, Santa Fe, San Luis, Santiago del
Estero, and Tucuman____________________________________
114
Medical attention in industrial establishments—
Provincial laws—Jujuy and Tucuman________________________
117
Seats for employees—
Provincial laws—Cordoba and Mendoza,___________________118
BULLETIN OF THE
U. S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
WASHINGTON
n o. 510
m arch
,
1930
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
This is the second of a series of bulletins to be published by the
United States Bureau of Labor Statistics on labor legislation enacted
in the Latin American countries.
The labor laws of Argentina have been compiled and translated
from the original Spanish texts obtained through the State Depart
ment from the American consul general at Buenos Aires, from
Ernesto Tornquist & Co., of Buenos Aires, and from the Argentine
Embassy in Washington. The bureau is also indebted to the pub
lishers of the Boletin del Trabajo for many of the Provincial laws.
While in most of the South American countries labor legislation
is a Federal matter and is therefore enacted only by the Federal
Congress, in Argentina one meets with a more complicated arrange
ment by virtue of the character of its Federal Government. On
certain subjects the National Congress enacts national legislation;
that is to say, legislation applicable to all the 14 Provinces or States,1
the 10 National Territories, and the Federal capital; but as regards
other questions, the laws passed by the National Congress are of a
local nature, applicable only to the Federal capital (city of Buenos
Aires) and to the National Territories. As an example of the latter,
the Sunday rest law (No. 4661) may be cited. Since this law is
limited in scope to the Federal capital and the National Territories,
the Provinces have enacted their own Sunday rest laws, the text of
10 of which are on file in the Bureau of Labor Statistics. On the
subjects on which the National Congress enacts legislation applying
to the whole country, the various Provinces, or States, generally
issue regulatory decrees based on such national laws but providing
for their application in detail within their own territory.
Space in this bulletin does not permit the publication of all the
labor laws or decrees of the various Provinces, but as far as it has
been practicable, the law or decree of one Province is given on each
.labor subject and the similarities or dissimilarities of those of the
other Provinces pointed out, and in the case of the regulatory decrees
issued by the Provinces, based on the national laws, the variances are
indicated.
The fact that no mention is made of a Provincial law on a certain
subject does not signify that the Province has not passed such leg
islation, but merely that this bureau, after repeated efforts, has been
unable to secure a copy of the text thereof.
1 Buenos Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Jujuy, La Rioja, Mendoza,
Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, and Tucuman.
1
2
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Workmen’s Compensation
Law No. 9688 of October 11, 1915, provides that employees and
workers who are hurt in industrial accidents arising out of and in
the course of the employment or due to a fortuitous occurrence or
force majeure connected with the nature of the work, are entitled
to compensation, and that their employers shall be held liable for
such accidents. The liability of the employer exists even when the
labor contract is made through a contractor, except in the case of
forestry or agricultural enterprises when machinery driven by me
chanical power is used, in which case the contractor is exclusively
and directly liable for damages caused by his own machinery.
Injuries are not compensable when they are due to force majeure not
connected with the nature of the work or to the employee’s culpable
negligence.
Certain occupational diseases are compensable in cases where the
disease was contracted while carrying on the work, or where it
is proved to have originated from work carried on by the wage
earner during the year previous to his disability.
Compensation benefits.— In fatal cases the employer must pay com
pensation to the family of the deceased equal to the total wages for
the last 1,000 days worked by the employee, but not more than 6,000
pesos.2 I f the deceased employee had worked less than 1,000 days,
the compensation is determined by multiplying by 1,000 the average
daily wage during his period of employment by the said employer.
The latter must also defray the funeral expenses, not, however, to
exceed 100 pesos.
For the purposes of this law the deceased employee’s “ family ”
includes the surviving spouse and the minor children; also his
ascendants, brothers, sisters, and grandchildren under 16 years of age,
if they were dependent on him at the time of the accident.
The law provides that a worker who is totally and permanently
disabled shall receive compensation equivalent to the wages received
during the last 1,000 days he worked, up to a maximum of 6,000
pesos. In cases of permanent partial disability the employee is to
receive an amount equal to one thousand times the wage loss due
to the accident.
For temporary disability the benefit shall equal half the employee’s
daily wages, computed on the basis of earnings during the preceding
year, from the day of the accident to the day on which he is able to
return to work. I f the disability lasts more than a year the employee
is entitled to permanent disability benefits from the date of the
accident.
A worker temporarily disabled by an industrial accident forfeits
his right to receive compensation if he leaves the country. Depend
ents of a foreign workman shall receive compensation if they are
residing in Argentina at the time of the accident or if an interna
tional agreement or treaty has been made by Argentina with the
country concerned.
2National currency. One gold peso=*96.48 cents; national currency normally convert
ible at 44 per cent of faoe value.
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
3
Insurance.— Employers may discharge their obligations as to com
pensation by taking out insurance in insurance companies or mutual
associations complying with specified requirements.
Regulatory decrees.— Besides the national regulatory decree apply
ing to the Federal capital and the National Territories, the following
Provinces have issued regulatory decrees based on the national law:
Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Entre Rios, Jujuy, Salta, San Juan, San
Luis, Santa Fe, and Santiago del Estero.
Accident Prevention
The safeguarding of operators of portable or traction engines in
agricultural work is provided for by a decree of September 18, 1923,
which stipulates for annual inspections of the condition of such
engines by an authorized inspector, and for operation thereof only
by licensed operators, and prescribes the qualifications necessary to
obtain a license. Local inspections at the time of the harvest as to
the condition of the engines and the qualifications of the operators
shall also be made.
Accident prevention measures to be taken in industrial establish
ments are set forth in the workmen’s compensation law.
Wage Legislation
On August 5, 1925, Argentina passed a law (No. 11278) which
required all wages, whether of manual or nonmanual workers, to he
paid in national currency. It provides that pay periods must not
exceed 15 days for work done by the day nor one month for services
rendered for a fixed wage. All wages must be paid on workdays,
during working hours, and on the premises where the work is exe
cuted. It is strictly forbidden to pay workers in places where
merchandise or alcoholic beverages are sold. In no case may the
payment of wages be delayed, nor may any portion be deducted or
withheld from the total amount to be paid. Deductions on the pre
text of fines or of payments made in kind or accommodation are
expressly included in this prohibition. Exception to the above is
made, however, in the case of workers who have intentionally caused
damage to the tools or materials in the workshop.
Employees shall not be liable to fines other than those prescribed
in Government regulations, such fines in no case to exceed one-fifth
of the total monthly or semimonthly wage.
Violators of this law are punishable by fines of from 20 to 100
pesos per person concerned, which will be doubled for second offenses.
The revenue derived from these fines will be paid to the National
Council of Education.
The following Provinces have enacted similar laws or issued de
crees based on the national law: Buenos Aires, Jujuy, and Santiago
del Estero.
By a law (No. 9511) of October 2, 1914, it was decreed that
wages and salaries which do not exceed 100 pesos monthly shall not
be attached, nor can they be assigned or transferred to a third party.
From 5 to 25 per cent of salaries which exceed this amount may be
attached, depending upon the monthly salary.
4
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
The law also makes provision for advances to employees under
retirement systems, through the national fund fqjr civil retirement
annuities and pensions, to bear interest at 8 per cent, and to be
repaid in monthly payments.
Although Argentina has enacted no minimum wage law for factory
or shop workers, its home work law provides for minimum hourly
and piecework rates for home workers.8
Home Work
At the present time Argentina is the only country in South America
with a special law on home work. This law (No. 10505), passed on
October 8, 1918, and which applies to the Federal capital and the
National Territories, empowers the National Department of Labor
to appoint wage boards, composed of an equal number of representa
tives of employers and of workers and an independent chairman ap
pointed by the Department of Labor, whose duties it shall be to fix
minimum rates for home workers, taking into consideration the
following: The nature of the work, the price of the articles in the
locality, the sums necessary for the living expenses of the workers,
the lowest salaries earned by factory workers on the same or similar
articles, local customs, the price of articles of prime necessity in the
locality, and the value of accessories needed for the work. Em
ployers who pay a lower wage than that fixed as the minimum are
liable to a fine of 300 pesos. The law also lays down specific rules
and regulations concerning hygiene and safety in domestic workshops.
8-Hour Day
One of the most recent labor laws of the Republic is that (No.
11544) enacted in September, 1929, providing for an 8-hour day or a
48-hour week for day work, stipulating that night work may not
exceed 7 hours and defining night work as that performed between
9 p. m. and 6 a. m. When the work has to be performed in unhealth
ful places which might endanger the health of the worker, the hours
shall not exceed 6 a day or 36 a week.
These working hours apply to persons employed by others in public
or private enterprises, whether or not conducted for purposes of gain,
but do not apply to agricultural work, stock raising, or domestic
service, or to establishments which employ only members of the family
of the head of the establishment.
The following Provinces have enacted similar 8-hour laws: Cor
doba, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan, San Luis, Santa Fe, and Tucuman.
Sunday Rest
Under the Argentine Sunday rest law (No. 4661) which was en
acted September 6,1905, all manual work, except that done in domes
8 A reoent decision of the Supreme Court of Argentina declared the minimum wage law
of Mendoza unconstitutional because the regulation by contract for service is a matter
reserved exclusively for the National Congress, under sec. 11 of art. 67 of the constitu
tion, and is regarded as a Federal rather than a Provincial question. Three other Prov
inces, viz, San Juan, San Luis, and Tucuman, had enacted minimum wage laws which are
rendered void by this decision.
INTRODUCTION AND SUMMARY
5
tic service, is prohibited on Sunday in the Federal capital and the
National Territories. No exceptions are permitted as regards the
weekly rest day for women and children under 16 years of age.
The law exempts from its provisions work necessary to the public
interest, that necessary for the welfare of the industry, and such work
as is necessary to prevent accidents and other losses.
Sunday rest laws have also been passed by the Provinces of Buenos
Aires, Catamarca, Cordoba, Entre Rios, Jujuy, Mendoza, San Luis,
Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, and Tucuman.
Prohibition of Night Work in Bakeries
Night work has been the object of a special law (No. 11338) of
September 9,1926, in which the work of employees in bakeries, pastry,
and confectioners’ shops, and similar establishments is prohibited
between 9 p. m. and 5 a. m.
Each violation of this law shall be punished by a fine of 100 pesos
for each person unlawfully employed.
Beside the national regulatory decree applying to the Federal capi
tal and the National Territories the following Provinces have issued
regulatory decrees based on the national law: Buenos Aires, Cor
doba, Corrientes, La Rioja, Santa Fe, Santiago del Estero, and
Tucuman.
Employment of Women and Minors
A law (No. 11317) of September 30,1924, prohibits the employment
of children under 12 years of age in any class of work, including
agriculture. Children over 12 who have not completed their period
of compulsory education are not allowed to work except in case of
family necessity. In no instance may children under 14 years of age
be employed for gain or for charity in industrial or commercial
enterprises, except those in which only members of the family are
employed.
Boys under 14 years of age and unmarried girls under 18 years may
not, either on their own account or as employees, engage in street
trades.
The law forbids night work (i. e., work done between 8 p. m. and
7 a. m. in winter and 6 a. m. in summer) of women (except in do
mestic or nursing service and public evening entertainments) and
minors, as well as work in dangerous or unhealthful industries or
occupations. Working mothers are also protected by the law.
In addition to the national regulatory decrees based on the na
tional law and applying to the Federal capital and the National
Territories, the following Provinces have issued such decrees: Buenos
Aires, Cordoba, Corrientes, San Luis, Santa Fe, and Santiago del
Estero.
Housing
Law (No. 9667) of October 5, 1915, and the regulatory decree of
April 21,1917, created a National Housing Commission, whose func
tion it is to study and promote the construction and sanitation of lowpriced houses, as well as to engage in the actual construction of such
6
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
houses. They are to be sold at cost to reliable persons with families,
who are to be chosen by lot from among skilled and unskilled workers
and salaried employees who do not have property worth more than
3,000 pesos or an equivalent income.
The laws providing for retirement annuities and pensions for rail
road employees (Law No. 10650). public service employees (Law
No. 11110), and bank employees (Law No. 11232) make provision
for mortgage loans for homes to employees covered by these laws
(see pp. 76, 86, and 100).
Employment Agencies
Free public employment agencies were organized in Argentina by
a law (No. 9148) of September 25,1913. According to the latest re
port 4 for the year 1928 the agencies received 19,010 applications for
employment and 16,054 offers of employment, the number placed in
employment, principally domestic work, being 11,469. Among the
persons placed were 5,910 Spaniards, 2,949 Argentineans, 2,259 Ital
ians, and 351 of other nationalities.
By a law (No. 9661) of August 28, 1915, Provincial supervision is
provided for private employment agencies to prevent fraudulent
dealings therein, for which heavy penalties are prescribed.
A national decree of November 9, 1915, regulates the application
of these laws in the Federal capital and the National Territories, and
the Provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Tucuman
have passed similar laws or issued similar decrees.
Retirement Annuities and Pensions
Four classes of employees are entitled to retirement annuities
and pensions under the laws of Argentina, viz. civil officials, 'em
ployees, and agents (Law No. 4349 of September 20, 1904); em
ployees on government-controlled railroads (Law No. 10650 of
April 30,1919); employees of private street-car, telephone, telegraph,
gas, electricity, and radio-telegraph companies (Law No. 11110 of
February 11, 1921, and regulatory decree of June 30, 1923); and
bank employees (Law No. 11232 of October 9, 1923). A ll four sys
tems are contributory, a fund being established in each case for
administrative purposes.
The employees of each class are required to contribute 5 per cent
of their salaries or wages, though the maximum amount of such
salary subject thereto in the case of railroad employees and publicservice employees is 1,000 pesos per month and of bank employees
1,500 pesos; the amount or the first month’s salary of a new em
ployee, except civil employees, only one-half of whose first month’s
salary is contributed; and the difference in the first month’s salary
when given an increase in salary.
The employers in each case also contribute to the fund— in the
case of the civil employees the Government contributes the income
on 10,000,000 pesos m public funds; in the other three classes the
employers contribute 8 per cent of all the salaries and wages, limited
* Cronica Me&sual del Department© National del Trabajo, June, 1929, pp. 2835, 2836.
INTRODTJOTIOBT A2STD SUMMARY
7
in the case of railroad and public-service employees to a maximum
of 1,000 pesos of the wage. JProvision is also made for the reception
of donations and legacies, fines, etc., and that the interest and profit
on invested capital shall accrue to the fund.
A civil employee may be granted an ordinary annunity after 30
years’ service; railroad employees, public-service employees, and bank
employees, in addition to such service, must have reached the age of
50 years. Smaller annunities are given those who have reached that
age but have less than 30 years’ service.
Disability retirement is granted to civil, railroad, public-service,
and bank employees after 20; 5, 10, and 10 years’ service, respec
tively, and for permanent disability in the line of duty from a
cause arising out of the service whatever the length of service. Vol
untary retirement annuities at a reduced rate may be granted after
reaching 50 years of age and having 10 years’ service, except for
bank employees, who may voluntarily retire after 20 years’ service.
The ordinary annuity granted a civil employee is 3% per cent
of the last salary multiplied by the years of service. The amount of
the ordinary annuity of railroad employees and public-service
employees is based on the average wage for the last five years’ ser
vice, that of the former being, on such wages up to 120 pesos, the
whole amount; on wages from 120 to 300 pesos, 120 pesos and 80 per
cent of the wage over 120 pesos; and on wages from 300 to 1,000
pesos, 264 pesos and 70 per cent of the wage over 300 pesos; while
that of public-service employees runs from 95 per cent of such wages
not exceeding 100 pesos to 255 pesos plus 70 per cent of the amount
over 300 pesos on wages from 300 to 1,000 pesos.
For the civil employees the annuity for disability is calculated in
the same way as the ordinary annuity, except that the annuity for
disability is equivalent to 2.40 per cent of the last salary while that
of the ordinary is 3% per cent thereof; for railroad employees, publicservice employees, and bank employees it is 10, 5, aoid 3% per cent,
respectively, of the ordinary annunity for each year of service up to
the maximum. In cases of voluntary retirement, railroad employees
and public-service employees receive the sums they have contributed
to the fund plus 5 per cent interest compounded annually.
In the case of civil employees, railroad employees, public-service
employees, and bank employees, pensions are provided for dependents
on the death of employees having a right to a retirement annuity.
The amount of the pension is 50 per cent of the full retirement
annuity.
The funds are administered by boards composed of an equal
number of representatives of employees and of employers, with a
chairman appointed by the executive authority. Up to 50 per cent
of the resources of all except the civil employees’ fund may be loaned
to employees covered by the law for the construction or purchase of
homes.
Prohibition of Matches Containing Phosphorus
By law (No. 11127) of June 8, 1921, the manufacture, importa
tion, and sale of matches containing white or yellow phosphorus is
prohibited.
8
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Violations of this law shall be punished by a fine of from 500
to 1,000 pesos or by imprisonment of from three to six months.
Cooperative Societies
Law No. 11388 of December 20, 1926, recognizes cooperative
societies in Argentina and prescribes measures for their protection
and supervision.
National and Provincial Labor Offices
A law of October 8, 1912, and its regulatory decree of January
2, 1913, describes in detail the manner in which the Argentine
Department of Labor under the Ministry of the Interior is to be
administered and the powers and duties of its three divisions, namely,
legislation, statistics, and inspection and supervision.
Similar legislation establishing Provincial labor bureaus has been
enacted by Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Corrientes, Entre Rios, Mendoza,
Salta, Santa Fe, San Luis, Santiago del Estero, and Tucuman.
Medical Attention in Industrial Establishments
Two Provinces (Tucuman and Jujuy) have passed laws requiring
that medical attention be provided in industrial establishments
employing 200 or more workers. A suitable infirmary and a firstaid room, with the necessary skilled physicians, is to be provided in
each establishment, and free medical attention furnished to all
employees and their families when needed.
Seats for Employees
The Provinces of Cordoba and Mendoza have enacted legislation re
quiring that employers in stores and shops provide seats with back
rests for their employees in the proportion of two seats for every
three employees, and that employers in industrial establishments
where the work is not continuous provide such seats in the propor
tion of one seat to every three workers.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
WORKMEN’S COMPENSATION
LAW NO. 9688 OF OCTOBER 11, 1915
Chapter 1.—Liability for accidents
Article 1. All employers, whether individuals or corporations, who have
charge of work carried on in the industries and enterprises referred to in
the following article shall be liable for accidents suffered by their employees
and workers while performing their work, whether arising out of or in the
course of such employment or due to a fortuitous occurrence or to force
majeure connected with the nature of the work.
Art. 2. Workers and employees whose annual wages do not exceed 3,000
pesos and who render services in the following industries and occupations
are the only ones covered by this law:
(1) Factories, workshops, and industrial establishments in general where
power other than man power is used in the work;
(2) Construction, maintenance, and repair of buildings, railroads, harbors,
dikes, canals, and similar works;
(3) Mines and quarries;
(4) Transportation, loading, and unloading;
(5) Manufacture or use of explosives or inflammable materials and of
electricity;
(6) Forestry and agriculture, but only persons engaged in transportation
by or operation of engines;
(7) Installing, repairing, or removing telegraph or telephone systems or
lightning rods;
(8) All similar industries or enterprises not included in the preceding
enumeration which, on the recommendation of the National Department of
Labor, shall have been declared by the Executive Authority, at least 30 days
prior to the occurrence of the accident, to be included.
A rt. 3. Compensation under this law for accidents causing disability shall
be paid only when the disability exceeds six working days.
Art. 4. The employer is exempt from all liability for industrial accidents
in the following cases: (a) When it has been intentionally caused by the
injured worker or is due to his own misconduct, (&) When it is due to force
majeure extraneous to the work.
The employer shall likewise not be liable to the heirs of a deceased worker
if the latter intentionally caused the accident or brought it about by his
own misconduct.
Art. 5. It shall be presumed that the employer is liable for all accidents
occurring as specified in article 1 of this law without other exceptions than
those specified in the preceding provision.
Art. 6. The employer is liable even when the worker does his work under
the direction of a contractor on whom the former depends to carry on the
industry. However, in forestry or agriculture the contractor alone is directly
and exclusively liable for accidents due to the use of machinery operated by
mechanical power which is owned by him.
Art. 7. Employers may discharge their obligations as regards compensation
by taking out insurance in favor of the employees or workers in an insurance
eompany or in an employers* mutual association complying with the require
ments set forth hereafter, provided the benefits are not less than those fixed
in this law.
Chapter 2.—Compensation
A rt. 8. The follow ing shall be taken into account in fixing the amount o f
com pensation:
(a)
If the accident causes the worker’s death, the employer is required to pay
the funeral expenses, which shall not exceed 100 pesos, and, in addition, to corn-
9
10
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
pensate the family of the deceased with an amount equivalent to the latter’s
entire wages for the last 1,000 days’ work but never more than 6,000 pesos
(national currency). If the deceased worked less than 1,000 days with the em
ployer who is liable, the compensation shall be computed by multiplying by
1,000 the average daily wage which the deceased received during the time he
worked for said employer. For the purposes of this law, by “ family ” will be
understood the surviving spouse and the minor children of the deceased.
Grandchildren up to 16 years of age, ascendants, and brothers and sisters until
they reach the age of 16 years, shall be considered as a part of the family, but
only if on the date of the accident they were living under the care of and
supported by the deceased.
The compensation shall be considered as community property and shall be
distributed among the heirs in the proportion and manner established in the
Civil Code.
(6) For permanent total disability, the injured worker shall receive a sum
equal to that fixed in the preceding section.
(c) For permanent partial disability, the compensation shall be a sum equal
to one thousand times the reduction in daily earning capacity resulting from
the accident.
( d) For temporary disability caused by the accident, one-half of the average
daily wages shall be paid as compensation from the day of the accident until
the injured worker is in a condition to return to work, computing it on his
earnings during the last 12 months. After one year the disability shall be
considered as permanent from the day of the accident for the purposes of com
pensation, from which must be deducted the amounts paid for temporary
disability.
Art. 9. The liability under this law of employers, insurance companies, or em
ployers’ [mutual] associations for accidents shall be discharged only by their
depositing, in the name of the injured worker or his heirs, the amount of the
compensation in a special division to be established under the national fund
for annuities and pensions, which shall invest the amount of said compensation
in Government bonds and shall pay monthly the annuities to those entitled
thereto.
A r t . 10. Employers or insurers must deposit in a special fund of said division,
which shall be called the “ Guaranty fund” : (a) Compensation due on account
of death, where the deceased worker leaves none of the dependents specified in
articles 8 and 14 of this law; (b) pensions created in conformity with the
preceding article, the beneficiaries of which have died without leaving any of the
heirs specified in article 8; (c) the amount of the compensation or pensions
belonging to foreigners who have left the country; (d) fines imposed for failure
to comply with this law
The resources of this fund shall be used exclusively (1) to pay the expenses
of the accident division; (2) to pay compensation left unpaid by reason of a
judicial decree of absolute insolvency of the employer, provided the injured
worker has begun his action within one month after the accident and has
proceeded with all the diligence necessary to establish his right.
A rt. 11. For the purposes of this law, by “ annual wage ” shall be understood
that received by the worker during the year preceding the accident from the
employer for whom he was working, and by “ daily wage ” the amount obtained
by dividing the annual wage by the number of working days during the year.
If the worker has not been employed for the entire year, the daily wage shall
be computed by dividing the worker’s earnings during the time he worked by
the actual number of days he worked.
If the injured person is an apprentice, the compensation shall be computed
on the basis of the lowest earnings of workers in the same industry and class
as the apprentice.
Art. 12. For the purposes of the preceding provisions, the executive authority
shall determine, in regulations under this law, the injuries which shall be con
sidered total disability and those which shall constitute partial disability, taking
into consideration, when there are two or more injuries, the age and sex of the
injured worker.
A rt. 13. Compensation benefits for industrial accidents may not be attached,
nor are they transferable, negotiable, or subject to waiver, and they shall enjoy
all the immunities and privileges accorded by the civil and commercial laws to
allowances.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
11
Art. 14. A worker who has suffered an accident causing temporary incapacity
to work shall lose his right to continue receiving the part of his wages accorded
him by the law from the day he leaves the country, and the heirs of a foreign
workman shall not receive any compensation if at the time of the accident
they were not living in the country, unless reciprocity has been established by
international agreements or treaties.5
Chapter 3.—Action for compensation
A rt. 15. The judge of the place where the accident occurred or that of the
residence of the defendant, whichever the plaintiff chooses, shall be competent
to try actions for compensation for industrial accidents in the capital and
National Territories, summary procedure being followed.
Art. 16. The representative of the General Office for Incompetents shall be
empowered to receive in his jurisdiction the amounts to be turned over to the
guaranty fund, created in conformity with this law, for which purpose the
authorities shall inform him of the accidents which require his intervention.
Art. 17. Workers and employees to whom this law refers may choose be
tween bringing a special action for compensation under this law or an action
under the common law for fraud or neglect on the part of the employer. How
ever both are exclusive and the initiation of one of them or the acceptance
of any sum thereunder shall of itself constitute a surrender of the rights under
the other.
Art. 18. In addition to his right of action against the employer or contractor,
the injured worker or his representatives shall have a right of action against
a third party for damages for injury caused by him, in accordance with the
principles of the Civil Code. By “ third party ” is understood one who is not
connected with the industrial operation, thus excluding from this class the
employer and his workers or employees.
The compensation obtained from a third party in conformity with this pro
vision relieves the employer of his liability for such part as was paid by the
said third party.
Actions against third parties may be brought by the employer at his own
expense and in the name of the injured worker or his heirs, if the latter have
not brought such action within eight days after the accident.
Art. 19. Actions under this law must be brought within one year after the
accident.
Art. 20. Accident insurance companies or employers’ [mutual] associations
which seek to assume for employers their obligations under this law must be
licensed by the executive authority of the Nation or of the Provinces, and be
organized in conformity with the following principles:
(a)
They shall deposit 50,000 pesos (national currency) in the Bank of the
Nation, to be invested in Government bonds, which can not be withdrawn as
long as the insurance company has insurance policies in the country;
(&) Insure their obligations to pay compensation in conformity with the
provisions of this law, fixing the scale of premiums on this basis;
(e) Constitute a reserve fund, based on the amount of insurance written, as
fixed by the Executive authority in the regulations;
(d) Exclude all clauses of forfeiture with respect to the injured worker or
his heirs;
(e) Separate completely the workmen’s compensation insurance from other
business handled by the company.
Art. 21. In case of bankruptcy of a company or an employers’ [mutual]
association which has handled compensation insurance for the workers or the
employer who owes the compensation, the funds set aside for its payment shall
not become a part of the general fund, but shall be returned to the insured
employer in the condition in which they were at the time of the bankruptcy or
5 Practically identical conventions have been signed by Argentina with Austria, Belgium*
Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Yugoslavia providing for the reciprocal treatment of
their nationals as regards compensation for industrial accidents suffered by workers resi
dent in the contracting countries. These agreements provide that workers of one of the
contracting countries injured in the territory of the other, as well as their heirs, shall
have the same right to compensation and other benefits which the local law concedes to its
nationals, and this provision holds even if the injured workman or his heirs subsequently
leave the country where the accident occurred.
12
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
be turned over to the fund for retirement annuities and pensions for the crea
tion of a pension.
C h apter 4.— Occupational Mseases
A rt . 22. When a worker is incapacitated for work or dies as the result of a
disease contracted in the exercise of his occupation, he shall have a right to
the compensation accorded by this law, under the following conditions:
(а) The disease must have originated exclusively in the work performed by
the worker during the year preceding the disability.
(б) Compensation shall not be paid if it is proved that the worker was
suffering from the disease before entering the employment.
(c) The last employer for whom the man worked during the year referred
to, on the kind of work which caused the disease, shall pay the compensation,
unless it is proved that the same was contracted while in the service of other
employers, in which case the latter shall be liable.
( d) If the disease, owing to its nature, could have been contracted gradually,
the other employers in whose service the worker had been employed during the
last year on the kind of work which caused the disease, are liable to the last
employer for a proportionate share of the compensation, to be fixed by arbitra
tors if there is any controversy concerning it
(e) The employer in whose service a worker is incapacitated by a disease
must report it in the same way as an accident.
Occupational diseases shall be enumerated by the executive authority in
regulatory decrees, after a previous report from the technical bureaus, and
liability therefor shall begin 90 days from its determination.
C hapter 5.—General provisions
Art. 23. Any clause which exempts the employer from liability for accidents
or which in any way nullifies the present law is absolutely void.
Art 24. Agreements made by the injured workers or their heirs with inter
mediaries which, in return for agreed advance remuneration, secure to them
the enjoyment of the rights accorded by this law, are also null and void.
A rt 25. The worker, and in case of his death his heirs, must notify the near
est judicial or police authority of the accident within the period of time fixed
by the Executive Authority, under penalty of a 25 per cent reduction in the com
pensation, except in case of force majeure or other impediment duly proved.
The employer is also required to report the accident within 24 hours after it
has come to his attention, under penalty of a fine of from 50 to 100 pesos. The
National Government authority which receives information of the accident
shall transmit it the same day to the employer and to the office of the National
Department of Labor in the locality of the accident. A similar procedure shall
be required of the Provincial governments on the part of the said officials in
their service.
A rt. 26. When an accident occurs for which the employer has no legal
excuse he shall be required to furnish gratuitously medical and pharmaceutical
attention to the injured worker until he is in a condition to return to work,
dies, or is declared permanently disabled, provided the worker agrees to accept
the attention of the physicians appointed by the employer.
A rt. 27. The injured worker or his heirs shall have the right of proceeding
in forma pauperis in the case of legal proceedings to obtain compensation.
A rt. 28. In case of accidents incurred in the service of the National Gov
ernment, legal proceedings may be brought without previous claims being
made through administrative channels.
A rt. 29. The executive authority, in issuing regulations under this law,
shall indicate the measures which must be adopted in the capital and the
National Territories to prevent accidents in all work which is dangerous for the
workers. Violations of such regulations shall be punished by a fine of from
50 to 200 pesos, without prejudice to the usual liabilities.
A rt . 30. The executive authority shall regulate the form in which con
tractors or employers may provide medical attention or care for the injured
workmen through physicians of their own selection.
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
13
REGULATORY DECREE OF JANUARY 14, 1916 (FOR FEDERAL CAPITAL
AND NATIONAL TERRITORIES)
Article 1. Law No. 9688 shall be in force in the Federal Capital and the
National Territories in conformity with the provisions of this regulatory decree.
Chapter 1.—General provisions
Art. 2. For the purposes of Law No. 9688, by “ industrial accident ” will be
understood one arising out of or in the course of the work, and which causes
either direct or indirect bodily injuries, whether apparent or not apparent,
deep or superficial. Accidents due to a fortuitous occurrence or force majeure
connected with the nature of the work and which cause similar injuries shall
also be considered industrial accidents.
Art. 3. By “ employer” is understood an individual or corporation which
conducts or operates, with the help of other persons, any of the industries or
enterprises specified in article 2 of the law. An employer’s liability exists
even when the workers are under the immediate direction of contractors whom
the former has intrusted with the operation of his industry or enterprise.
The National Government, the Provinces, and the municipalities are regarded
as employers for the purposes of this article.
Art. 4. By “ workers” is understood all those who habitually work for an
other as operators or employees in enterprises or industries, with or without
remuneration, for a wage or by the job, by virtue of an oral or written
contract. Apprentices shall be included in this provision.
Art. 5. The wage which shall serve as the basis for the compensation ac
corded by this law is the remuneration which the worker receives in money or
in any other form from the employer in whose service he was when the acci
dent occurred. The daily wage shall be calculated by dividing the annual
wage by the number of working days in the year, but shall not be less than
1y2 pesos (national currency), even for apprentices who receive no remunera
tion or workers who receive less than said amount.
If the worker has not been employed in the establishment where the acci
dent occurred for the entire year the daily wage shall be calculated by dividing
the earnings of the worker for the time which he worked by the number of
days’ work actually performed.
When an employee works for two or more employers at different hours or
on different days during the year, his wage shall be computed as if all his earn
ings were obtained from the employer for whom he was working when the
accident occurred.
Art. 6. In order to fix the wage when the worker is not paid in money but in
kind, in the use of a house, or in any other form, said remuneration shall be
computed according to its average value in the locality.
If the service is contracted for by the job, the wage shall be calculated ac
cording t^ what workers receive under similar conditions for doing similar
work to that performed by the injured worker, or, in the absence of such condi
tions, the nearest similar conditions.
Art. 7. In accordance with the provisions of article 2 of the law, the same
shall apply especially to—
(1) Factories, workshops, and industrial establishments in general where
power other than man power is used.
(2) Industries the operation of which, wholly or in part, requires habitually
the use or the action of inflammable, explosive, or volatile substances or ma
terials whose vapors form with the air explosive mixtures, and which shall be
specified in a regulation.
(3) Industries which require the manufacture, transportation, or storage of
one or more materials of the nature indicated in the preceding paragraph.
(4) Navigation of vessels which ordinarily travel from one point to another
in the Republic, or of vessels which travel exclusively in rivers and interior
waters and yet come from foreign parts, provided the accident occurs in juris
dictional waters.
(5) Pleasure-boat service.
(6) Fishing industry, operating in rivers or interior or jurisdictional
waters.
(7) Ship building and dismantling.
(8) Ship chandlery.
2
100691°—30
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14
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
(9) Salvaging ships and their cargoes.
(10) Operation of docks for vessels.
(11) Operation of locks and drawbridges.
(12) Work performed in enterprises connected with railroads, street rail
ways, busses, vehicles, and horses.
(13) Work of contractors of loading, unloading, storage, weighing, trans
portation, or warehousing of merchandise.
(14) Industries or enterprises of construction, maintenance, repair, and
demolition of buildings, opening and closing of roads, railroads, or street rail
ways, canals, locks, harbors, docks, bridges, dikes, and hydraulic installations.
(15) Diving work.
(16) Work in the laying, repairing, rebuilding, or dismantling of drains, pip
ing, electrical conductors, or lightning rods.
(17) Work of excavating, laying foundations, fencing, dredging, boring,
and digging wells.
(18) Peat industry.
(19) Mine operations and the extraction of iron ore, sand, or gravel.
(20) Operations of stone quarries.
(21) Work in the diamond and other precious stones industry.
(22) Paint and glass industry.
(23) Tapestry and furniture industry.
(24) Stucco work.
(25) Window washing, cleaning of buildings, and work on their facades
and their annexes.
(26) Chimney-cleaning enterprises.
(27) Gas works.
(28) Work in the extraction or utilization of metals, stone, wood, cork, or
rushes.
(29) Gathering and manufacture of straw, when motor power is used.
(30) Manufacture or work on glass, pottery, lime, brushes, leather articles,
india rubber, paper and pasteboard articles, linen, cord, candles, or soap.
(31) Basket-making industry.
(32) Tanning; leather industry.
(33) Shoe manufacture, when machinery is used.
(34) Work performed for manufacturers of stone, floor, or roofing tiles.
(35) Operations of reinforced-cement manufacturers.
(36) Printing and binding.
(37) Salt works.
(38) Pharmacies, and work in the manufacture of chemical products.
(39) Laboratory work in scientific or technical research for industrial pur
poses.
(40) Operation of slaughterhouses and meat markets and work in the manu
facture of meat products.
(41) Preparation of preserved food, or fruit extracts.
(42) Fish drying and salting.
(43) Manufacture of beer and vinegar.
(44) Distillation of fermented beverages and the manufacture of gin and
liquors.
(45) Malt industry.
(46) Mineral-water manufacture.
(47) Manufacture of coffee or chicory sirups (jambes de caf4 o achicoria) .
(48) Manufacture of butter, when a centrifugal machine is used for churn
ing the same.
(49) Melting of grease.
(50) Distillation of oil, lacquers, and varnishes.
(51) Manufacture of sealing wax*
(52) Packing yeast.
(53) Gut-tobacco industry.
(54) Rag sorting.
(55) Street-lighting service.
(56) Work of firemen.
(57) Cleaning of roads, streets, squares, wells, drains, or toilets; work in
the collection of ashes or garbage, and the manufacture of fertilizers.
(58) Telegraph, telephone, and electrical installations of all kinds.
(59) Forestry and agriculture only as regards persons engaged in transpor
tation service or in operating motors.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
15
(60)
Any other industries which the executive authority may hereafter
incorporate herein.
[By regulatory decree of November 12, 1917, establishments for the storage
and handling of native fruits, known as “ fruit-sheds ” (barracas), were added.]
A rt. 8. All employers of more than four workmen shall keep a register
wherein the name, residence, age, status, nationality, and wage of each work
man are shown. Whenever workmen change their address they must give
notice thereof in order that the change may be noted in the register.
Art. 9. Employers are likewise required to keep a special book, to be
called “ Salaries and wages,” all the pages of which shall be numbered.
The head of the National Department of Labor shall certify on its first page
as to the contents and the name of the employer or employers. There shall
be noted daily in said book, in chronological order in the proper columns, the
attendance of the workmen or employees working for the establishment or
enterprise, either on a salary basis, or for wages by the day or by the piece,
using the words “ yes ” or “ no ” to show presence or absence. Likewise there
shall be recorded after each name the salary or wage earned and in separate
columns the amount of work done by the job or by the piece.
Art. 10. The said book shall be kept without changes or erasures of any
kind, and shown to the inspector of the National Department of Labor when
ever he shall ask for it. The inspector shall leave a record of his inspection
in every case.
Art. 11. For the purposes of the provisions of article 2, of Law No. 9688,
the National Department of Labor shall prepare a roster of the industrial
establishments in the Capital and the National Territories.
Chapter 2.—Employer's liability
A b t. 12. The employer’s obligations are operative before, during, and after
the accident.
Art. 13. For the purposes of article 5 of Law No. 9688, the employer’s liability
established by such law shall be effective from the time of the occurrence of the
accident.
Art. 14. The most immediate obligation is that of furnishing the injured
worker with medical and pharmaceutical attention without delay.
Art. 15. The aid of the nearest physician shall be first resorted to, but
thereafter physicians designated by the employer shall give medical attention
unless an official physician takes charge of the care of the injured person.
Art. 16. From the time of the occurrence of the accident causing incapacity
for work, the employer is required to pay the injured workman one-half his
wages, in conformity with article 8, paragraph (d), of the law.
Art. 17. Workers injured in industrial accidents or their heirs, must give
notice of the occurrence thereof to the competent authority within 30 days
thereafter, under penalty of suffering a 25 per cent reduction in their com
pensation, except in cases of force majeure or some other impediment duly
proved.
Art. 18. As required in article 25 of Law No. 9688, employers must give
similar notice within 24 hours from the occurrence of the accident or from
the time that they become cognizant thereof, which will be presumed to be
within the following 24 hours when they were not present at the place where
the accident occurred. The employer who fails to give the notice is liable to a
fine of from 50 to 100 pesos (national currency).
Art. 19. Workers as well as the employer must report the accident, in the
national capital, to the police of the precinct where it occurred or to the
offices of the National Department of Labor, and in the National Territories and
Provinces to the police authority of the locality or to the justice of the peace.
Art. 20. The police authorities, in the Federal capital and the National
Territories, upon being notified by injured workers or their heirs of industrial
accidents, shall on the same day notify the National Department of Labor
and the employer of the injured worker by mail, using a printed form.
Art. 21. In recording the accident the name, nationality, age, salary, occu
pation, and status of the injured worker and the place and hour of the accident,
as well as the apparent causes thereof, shall be set forth, filling in the form
which the National Department of Labor shall distribute to those interested.
Art. 22. The person giving information of the accident may require a cer
tificate of such notification.
16
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Art. 23. In case of immediate death, the employer shall give notice like
wise to the National Department of Labor, setting forth those facts men
tioned in article 21 which are pertinent.
Art. 24. In addition to the above-mentioned notice, the employer shall
notify the National Department of Labor in writing as soon as he has begun
to carry out his obligations in regard to his liability for the accident.
In this notice the worker and [or] the interested parties, either personally
or by their representatives, must signify their agreement.
Similar notice shall also be given the National Department of Labor of the
employer’s intention to pay the compensation, stating the amount, and the
article, number, and paragraph of the law pertaining thereto.
Art. 25. If the amount of the compensation is deposited in the national
annuities and pensions fund for retirement in conformity with article 9 of
the law, notice shall likewise be given to the said department.
Art. 26. If the employer thinks that the accident was due to force majeure
extraneous to the work, or that it was caused intentionally by the injured
workman or his heirs, or was due to serious fault on the part of said work
man or his heirs, the employer shall so declare in writing to the National
Department of Labor; it being understood, however, that he is not thereby
relieved from the obligations set forth in articles 12 and 14 [14 and 16] con
cerning medical attention and payment of half wages.
Art. 27. When the National Department of Labor has knowledge of a
difference between the employer and the workman or his heirs concerning
the compensation to be paid, it shall offer in writing its mediation in order
to effect an understanding.
Art. 28. Should the employer appoint physicians to give medical attention
and to certify the facts, he shall within 48 hours forward to the National
Department of Labor the names and residences of the same. If he has not
appointed any, the physicians taking care of the injured person shall be con
sidered as representing the employer, for the purpose of establishing char
acter and duration of the injury.
Art. 29. The physicians named by the employer shall have the right to
visit the injured person at the hospital, should he be removed to one. The
same right shall apply to the physician of the National Department of Labor.
Art. 30. Physicians are required to issue the following certificates: (1)
When the accident occurs, a certificate to the effect that the worker is unable
to work; (2) when the cure is effected, a certificate to the effect that the
worker is able to resume his work; (3) when after the cure of the worker,
the patient is still disabled, a certificate to that effect, giving the classification
of the disability; (4) a death certificate, in case the worker dies.
Art. 31. In the certificate mentioned in clause (1) of the preceding article,
the injury shall be described in the greatest detail. The same shall also be
done in the certificate referred to in clause (4), adding the data resulting
from the autopsy when one is performed.
The certificate to which clause (3) refers must describe the disability
with the greatest precision.
Art. 32. When such certificates are issued, the employer shall send a
certified copy thereof, bearing his signature to the National Department of
Labor if so requested. Any refusal to comply with this requirement renders
the employer liable to the penalties provided in article 8 of Law No. 8999.
Art. 33. Injured workmen must be advised of the certificates mentioned in
clauses (2) and (3) of article 30, and if they concur therein, they shall so
manifest by signing the same either personally or by their representatives.
Art. 34. In case of disagreement, either because the workman does not con
sider himself to be cured or because he does not agree with the classification
of the disability, the workman may name physicians in order that, with the
concurrence of the medical inspector of the National Department of Labor and
the physicians of the employer, another examination may be made, and a
certificate issued, signed by all the attending physicians, in which the con
sensus of opinion is shown.
Art. 35. If the said physicians are unable to agree, three copies shall
be made of the document—one for the employer, one for the workman, and
the other for the National Department of Labor in the Federal capital, for
the chief of police in the National Territories, and [or] for such authority as
the particular Province may designate in its territory.
The National Department of Labor in the Federal Capital and the authorities
mentioned in the National Territories and the Provinces shall send copies of the
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
17
medical certificates and of all the data relating thereto, to the National Health
Department, which shall give final judgment.
Chapter 3.—Injuries
Art. 36. If the injured workman has not returned to work within four days
after the accident, the employer must, on being given a receipt, deliver to the
National Department of Labor a medical certificate in which the condition
of the injured workman and the probable consequences of the accident are
shown, together with the time in which it will be possible to know the result
definitely.
Art. 37. When a serious accident is involved, the inspectors of the National
Department of Labor shall visit the place of its occurrence and draw up a
detailed report of the facts.
Art. 38. The National Department of Labor shall furnish the judges, when
ever so required, the reports and documents pertaining to each industrial
accident.
Art. 39. For the purposes of this regulation there shall be considered: 1. As
total disabilities, those which preclude any kind of work; 2. As partial dis
abilities, those which preclude the work in which the worker was engaged,
but no other.
Art. 40. Even though the causes of the accident may give rise to court pro
ceedings in a criminal case, the measures prescribed in this regulation as to
determining and classifying the disability shall not be postponed so that the
action authorized in article 10 of Law No. 9688 may be expedited.
Chapter 4.—Compensation.
Art. 41. The compensation fixed by law shall be paid in national currency.
Compensation paid in any other form shall be absolutely void, and the worker
can claim another payment.
Art. 42. For the purposes of this law, a family is understood to consist of
the surviving spouse and the minor children of the injured workman. Grand
children up to the age of 16 years, the ascendants, and the brothers and sisters
up to the age of 16 years, shall be considered as part of the family only if at
the time of the accident they were living under the care of and were supported
by the injured workman .
Art. 43. If the accident results in the death of the workman, the employer,
in accordance with the provision of paragraph (a) of article 8 of the law, is
required to pay the funeral expenses, which may not exceed 100 pesos, and to
compensate the family of the workman with a sum equal to the decedent’s
full wages for the last 1.000 days’ work, but not to exceed 6,000 pesos. The
wage shall be calculated in accordance with the terms of article 5 of this regu
lation. If the workman worked less than 1,000 days with the employer who
is liable, the compensation shall be calculated by multiplying by 1,000 the
average daily wage which he earned during the time that he worked for the
said employer.
Art. 44. The heirs of a foreign workman who dies as a result of an industrial
accident shall receive no compensation if at the time of the accident they were
not residing in the country, except in cases where international agreements or
treaties have established reciprocity in this respect.
Art. 45. Compensation shall be considered as community property and shall
be distributed among the heirs in the proportion and form established therefor
by the Civil Code.
Art. 46. In case of permanent total disability, compensation equivalent to
that fixed in article 43 of this decree shall be paid the injured worker.
Art. 47. In case of permanent partial disability the compensation shall be
equal to one thousand times the reduction in daily earning capacity as a result
of the accident.
Art. 48. Temporary disability caused by an accident shall be compensated
with half of the average daily salary, from the day of the accident up to the
day when the injured workman is in a condition to return to work, the calcu
lation to be made upon his earnings for the last 12 months. After one year
the disability shall be considered, for compensation purposes, as permanent
from the day of the accident, from which shall be deducted the amounts paid
fo r temporary disability.
18
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Art. 49. In estimating the character of the disability the following rules
shall be followed:
(1) Temporary total disability shall be estimated, for the purposes of
article 8, paragraph (d), of the law, as a continuation of the pathological
consequences caused by the accident within the time limit indicated in said
provision.
(2) The classification of temporary total disability shall cease when the
injured workman is declared cured or when a year has passed since the
accident without a cure being effected.
Art. 50. The cure of the injured workman shall be declared by the phy
sicians according to the following standards: (a) Cure without disability; (&)
cure with disability.
Art. 51. As a general rule, cures without disability shall be declared from
the time that the healing of the injuries has taken place, unless a period of
treatment is required to restore the functioning of the parts which were
injured.
Art. 52. As a general rule, cures with disability shall be declared from the
time that the healing of the injuries has taken place, resulting in manifest dis
ability. If the resulting disability is functional instead of organic, on petition
of the employer there may be a wait for the period indicated in the law for
the function to be restored.
Art. 53. When the cure with disability is declared definitely, the disability
shall be classified as total or partial.
Art. 54. The following are total disabilities for the purposes of this law :
(а) Total loss of the arms, the legs, or an arm and a leg, or loss of the es
sential parts thereof, the loss of a hand or a foot being considered as such.
(б) Functional injury to the locomotive organs, which can be estimated
in its consequences as analogous to the mutilation of the extremities under the
same conditions as those indicated in paragraph (a).
(c )' Loss of both eyes, by enucleation of the organ or total loss of vision.
(<f) The loss of one eye, with serious impairment of vision in the other eye.
(e ) Incurable mental derangement.
if) Functional or organic lesions of the brain and of the circulatory and
respiratory systems, occasioned directly or indirectly by the mechanical or
toxic action of the accident and which is regarded as incurable.
(g) Inguinal or femoral hernia, single or double.
Art. 55. Partial disabilities are:
(n) Total loss of the right arm, or loss of its essential parts, considering as
such the hand, all the fingers of the hand but the thumb, or the loss of all the
second and third phalanges, or the loss of the thumb alone.
(&) The total loss of tLa left arm, or loss of its essential parts, considering
as such the hand and all the fingers of the hand.
(c) The total loss of one of tlie legs or the loss of its essential parts, con
sidering as sucli the foot and the parts which are absolutely necessary for
standing and walking.
Art. 56. Partial disabilities shall be considered as total in the following
cases:
(1) When, in addition to the injury to a definite member which is classified
as a partial disability, tlie worker suffers as the result of the accident injuries
to other members which together cause a 50 per cent reduction in his working
capacity.
(2) When there is a 42 per cent reduction in working capacity and the
worker is over 50 years of age.
(3) When there is a 36 per cent reduction in working capacity and the
worker is over 60 years of age.
(4) In the case of woman employees the percentages are 2 per cent less than
the above.
Art. 57. In the cases specified in the preceding article and for the purposes
of this law, the classification of the disability for the purposes of compensation
shall be understood to apply to the regular occupation of the injured worker
and not to casual or temporary work.
A rt. 58. If the employer does not accept the worker as in the occupation or
class of work which he was doing at the time of the accident, all the injuries
which alone do not constitute total disability shall be defined as partial
disability.
Art. 59. To comply with the provision in the preceding article the employer
may accept the worker either definitely or provisionally. In the latter case,
19
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
the final decision shall not be postponed for more than six months from the
acceptance.
A r t . 60. The following scale shall be followed in fixing compensation:
•SCHEDULE FOR VALUATION OF REDUCTION OF WORKING CAPACITY
Per cent of wages
Total loss of arm, right or left----------------------------------------------------------- 60
Total loss of forearm, right or left----------------------------------------------------- 60
Total loss of hand, right or left_______________________________________ 60
Total loss of thumb, right or left-------------------------------------------------------- 30
Total loss of index finger, right------------------------------------------------------------ 24
Total loss of index finger, left_________________________________________ 18
Total loss of two phalanges of thumb, right_____________________________ 18
Total loss of two phalanges of thumb, left_____________________________
9
Total loss of two phalanges of index finger, right6______________________ 16
Total loss of two phalanges of index finger, left6_______________________ 12
Total loss of two phalanges of ring finger7---------------------------------------------6
Total loss of a finger, middle_______________________________________
9
Total loss of a finger, ring___________________________________________
9
Total loss of a finger, little___________________________________________ 13
Total loss of a phalange of any finger_________________________________
6
Total loss of thigh------------------------------------------------------------------------------ 60
Total loss of leg________________ !____________________________________ 60
Total loss of foot__________________________________________________
50
Total loss of toe_____________________________________________________
6
Loss of sight in one eye_____________________________________________ 42
Total deafness_______________________________________________________ 42
Deafness in one ear_________________________________________________
12
Inguinal or femoral hernia, double_____________________________________ 18
Inguinal or femoral hernia, single_____________________________________ 12
Art. 61. The National Department of Labor shall keep a card index of
reported disabilities, with notes, arranged alphabetically, and shall issue a cer
tificate of the facts on request by an interested party in any litigation. For
this purpose the department shall adopt its own rules.
Chapter 5 —Accident prevention—Safety and sanitation
Art. 62. The measures to prevent industrial accidents indicated below shall
apply to all the industries included in article 2 of the law, and which are
established in the Federal capital and the National Territories and other
zones subject to Federal jurisdiction. The obligation to take such preventive
measures against industrial accidents shall also apply to every industry
which may hereafter be designated in accordance with paragraph 8 of article
2 of the law. The same measures shall be compulsory in trade schools and
institutions, provided they use mechanical installations, steam boilers, or
electric motors, or when the industry is classified as dangerous and unhealthful.
These measures shall also be enforced in theaters, circuses, and similar
etablishments in which mechanical apparatus is used.
sanitary measures
Art. 63. The following provisions shall be observed in factories, workshops,
and other work places:
(a) They shall be kept in a state of perfect cleanliness.
(&) Noxious emanations from sewers and water-closets shall be avoided and
also dampness of floors, etc.
(c)
If gases, vapors, dusts, and other impurities are generated in the course
of the work in quantities tending to injure the health of the employees, they
shall be so controlled by the system of ventilation as to become inoffensive.
When dusts, vapors, or emanations are generated in the course of the work,
proper devices to remove such impurities from the work place to the outside
shall be provided under conditions which will not be offensive to the neighbor
hood. When the natural ventilation is not sufficient, mechanical suction must
•Added by decree of Dec. 24, 1918.
TAdded by decree of Feb. 28, 1919,
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
20
be used, the machines being either inclosed or adapted to carry away the matter
collected by means of simple suction, upward or downward, according to what
the case demands and what is technically possible. If the technical condi
tions make mechanical suction impossible, adequate measures or precautions
must be adopted to avoid any bad effect on the workers. Pulverisation of
irritating or poisonous materials shall be done only in closed apparatus.
( d)
If, for technical reasons connected with the production or other circum
stances, the windows in any work place have to remain closed during working
hours, at least 40 cubic meters8 of pure air per employee per hour must be
provided.
Art. 64. A work place shall not employ a larger number of persons than is
consistent with its capacity and the quantity of respirable air, at the rate of
10 cubic meters of air for each person. There shall be posted in a con
spicuous place a notice specifying the maximum number of persons who may
be employed therein.
Art. 65. Workrooms shall be suitably lighted to avoid injury to the eye
sight of persons employed therein.
Art. 66. Factories and workshops shall be provided with an adequate num
ber of toilets, with separate installations for each sex. The filtered drinking
water necessary for the use of the employees shall also be provided.
safety m easures
Art. 67. Notices giving warning of dangerous places shall be posted in all
rooms where there are machines run by mechanical power.
Art. 68. The following requirements shall also be observed in the work
places:
(a) All elevators, cranes, flywheels, and pulleys directly connected with a
motor, and the parts of all water wheels or wheels run by mechanical force,
shall be protected in the manner prescribed by the inspectors.
(&) All gutters should be closed if they are not otherwise isolated.
(c)
All dangerous parts of machinery, transmission apparatus, and belting
shall be guarded and arranged so that they offer no danger to the persons
employed thereon or who work in the factories.
Art. 69. Boilers must be inspected and tested by a hydrostatic pressure
double that at which they can be operated. For boilers which operate at a
pressure greater than seven atmospheres, the test shall be made with six
atmospheres more than the maximum pressure at which it operates. This
test shall be made every two years in the presence of the technical inspector
of the department, and the proprietor shall provide the means therefor.
After the test is made, a plate shall be affixed to show the maximum amount
of pressure.
Art. 70. All boilers used for generating steam shall be provided with a
safety valve and a manometer which indicates the pressure of the steam and a
water gauge which shows the height of the water in the boiler.
Art. 71. Transmission belts shall have the boxes, perches, belt carriers, and
wire guards arranged to the best advantage for avoiding accidents to the
workmen.
Art. 72. There shall be aisles at least 1 meter and 30 centimeters wide be
tween the movable parts of two machines, and 1 meter between the bases
and foundations of the same, provided there is no flywheel in the intervening
space; if there is, that distance shall be guarded.
Art. 73. Whenever a machine permits thereof, it should have a loose pulley
and a belt shifter, so that the machine may be stopped immediately in case
of accident.
Art. 74. Emery wheels shall be provided with dust-exhaust apparatus and
other dangerous parts shall be covered with a framework or hood, as may be
required.
Art. 75. Lifts, hoists, and cranes should have sufficient guaranty of strength,
and the maximum weight they can support should be posted thereon. The
supports of each floor should be protected.
Art. 76. In all industrial establishments where motors are employed, there
shall be means of communication between the motor room and the different
departments where the transmission reaches, either by speaking tubes, electric
bells or other apparatus.
•Cubic meter—35.314 cubic feet.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
21
Art. 77. In establishments where wood or inflammable materials are being
worked up, illuminating lamps must be covered, the use of alcohol and mineral
oils being prohibited therein.
A rt . 78. In factories where there are electric machines and other electric
installations, all cables, conductors, etc., must be insulated and the motors
guarded, so that they will present no danger to the employees.
Art. 79. Electric storage batteries or transformers must be insulated and
access to them must be prohibited to persons who are not operators.
A rt. 80. When generators are used in the production of both light and
power in establishments which work at night, a special installation shall be
provided to furnish light in case the generator does not function.
Art. 81. When gas or compressed air is used, the storage tanks shall be
tested in the same manner as the boilers. They are also to be provided with
a safety valve and a manometer.
Art. 82. Scaffolds used in the construction and repair of buildings must
meet the following requirements:
(a) They must be 1.2 meters® wide.
(&) They must be constructed of well-joined planks 5 centimeters® thick, with
a board on each side 30 centimeters high.
(c) The uprights must measure at least 75 by 75 millimeters0 and be placed
at the edge of the walk way, be embedded 50 centimeters, and not be set at a
greater distance than 3 meters apart.
(d) Above the level of the scaffold two horizontal crosspieces shall be
placed, one at 50 centimeters and the other at 1 meter, well secured and firm.
(e) The crosspieces shall be joined with wires or with nailed iron hoops
and the uprights shall have nailed pegs by which they are held.
(f) The ladders must be firm and put together so as to prevent their bend
ing and side movement.
Art. 83. Scaffolds must not be loaded with an excessive weight of mate
rials or persons, on penalty of the manager or owner of the works incurring,
in addition to the liabilities established by the law, the damages occasioned
thereby.
Art. 84. The introduction and consumption of any alcoholic beverage on
the premises or work places are prohibited.
Art. 85. The National Department of Labor may grant a period of not
less than six months to such establishments as require time to institute re
forms or repairs needed to conform to the preceding provisions.
WORK OF PORT LOADING AND UNLOADING
Art. 86. The articles of this chapter are applicable to the work of loading
and unloading, the preparation and maintenance of vessels, and also the han
dling of freight, when these operations are carried on in ports, docks, and dry
docks, as well as at wharves and piers.
Art. 87. Scaffolds, gangplanks, ladders, and in general the installations upon
which employees have to move about, work, or remain, shall offer in all their
parts the necessary assurances of resist nee, stability, and solidity. The ma
terials used in the construction of the above must be of good quality, in a perfect
state of preservation, and with no defects which may lessen the conditions of
safety prescribed in the preceding section.
Lashings and cables must be sufficiently strong to support any accidental
impact given them.
Art. 88. The use of warped boards, decks of glued woods, and the application
of paint or varnish which may hide any defect of construction or poor quality
of material are strictly prohibited.
Art. 89. More weight will not be permitted than that which the resistance
of the hull of the ship can stand.
Art. 90. Scaffolds suspended from vessels shall be placed with all possible
care and shall be so fastened as to prevent swinging and tilting.
Art. 91. Installations for painting or other work on floating vessels or ves
sels in dry docks shall be protected with firm railings placed sufficiently high
to prevent the worker from falling. In places where the laborers have to
work seated, a strip at the height of the worker’s back, in addition to the
guard for support, shall be provide
This requirement extends also to the
upper platforms of other scaffolds.
®1 meter=39.37 inches; 1 centimeter=0.3937 inch; I millimeter=0,0394 incl}.
22
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Abt. 92. When passage from the shore to the ships or vice versa and between
two or more ships must be made on a slope and offers danger, gangplanks or
ladders shall be provided so that the passage may be made in perfect safety.
Art. 93. The planks used in the construction of gangplanks must rest on
supports and shall be so arranged that they "can not slip or move. They shall
be fastened together by means of a crosspiece to prevent their separation, and
there shall be no spaces left between which might offer danger to the worker.
Art. 94. The boards of installations on hatchways must be fastened to the
boat Gangplanks shall be provided with railings of a proper height and shall
be sufficiently wide to allow safe passage of the workers during the performance
of the work.
Art. 95. Gangplanks having a slope of more than 20 per cent are prohibited.
Moreover ashes or sawdust must be scattered upon the surface of the walk
way when from any cause it becomes slippery. Supporting gangplanks upon
loose bundles or bales of material of light weight or upon bags containing ma
terials which are likely to escape, is likewise forbidden.
Art. 96. There shall be sufficient space around ladders to allow the workers
to pass easily from them to the gangplanks or to other devices leading to and
from ships.
Art. 97. Ladders leading into the hatch must be placed on a level with the
coaming when the distance from the mouth of the hatch to the bottom of the
hold is more than 1 meter and 60 centimeters. The use of a ladder in which
rungs are lacking or which have a broken, weak, or movable rung is prohibited.
Art. 98. The foot of a ladder must rest upon a sufficiently resistant surface.
In case of necessity the uprights must be wedged to avoid slipping. Placing a
ladder upon one of the steps is prohibited unless there is sufficient resistance
and the same is supported by the uprights in such a manner that it can not
turn.
Art. 99. Suspended ladders must be so placed that they will not oscillate
nor tilt.
Art. 100. Separate ladders shall be used for the ascent and descent of the
workers to the gangplanks when these operations are performed simultaneously.
Art. 101. The transporting of crews of workers on board boats, launches,
and other vessels to the roadstead or to other vessels in the docks, as well as
returning them to the land, shall be done by means of boats which are suitable,
safe, and in a good state of repair. The number of persons which they can
carry shall be posted in a conspicuous place.
Art. 102. All places in which the laborers have to perform work or to move
about must be well lighted. When oil lamps are used in the performance of
the work, the safest type must be adopted.
Art. 103. In addition to taking the necessary precautions to prevent work
men from falling into the water, a life-saving apparatus for the use of the
employees shall be provided. This apparatus shall be put in a place which is
easily accessible, so that it can be used quickly in emergencies.
Art. 104. The employment of young persons under 18 years of age or of
women in the operation of winches or other hoisting apparatus, and in the
transmitting of signals in connection with the operation of the same to persons
in charge of such operation, is prohibited.
Chapter 6.—Deposit of compensation—Guaranty Fund.
Art. 105. [Repealed by decree of October 25, 1923. (See p. 27.)]
Art. 106. The deposit mentioned in article 9 of Law No. 9688 shall be made
within 30 days from the time of the accident. To prove the accident the same
data as required by article 21 of this decree shall be recorded.
Art. 107. In its “Accident Division ” the National Fund for Retirement An
nuities and Pensions shall organize the office of the “ Guaranty Fund” men
tioned in article 10 of the law. The personnel of this office and their remunera
tion shall be determined by the board of directors of said retirement fund.
Art. 108. Employers or insurance companies or employers’ [mutual] associa
tions, as the case may be shall, in addition to the above-mentioned deposit, pay
into the Guaranty Fund the following:
(a) The compensation due on account of death, when there are no heirs
having right to the same as specified in articles 8 and 14 of the law hereby
regulated.
(&) The amount of the compensation, or the pension derived therefrom,
belonging to foreigners who have left the country.
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
23
(c) The pensions whose beneficiaries have died without leaving heirs who
can qualify under article 8 of the same.
Art. 109. There shall likewise go into the guaranty fund the following: (a)
Fines imposed for violation of the present law; (6) gifts from private parties;
(c) subsidies given by the Province.
A rt. 110. The fund for retirement annuities and pensions shall notify the
National Department of Labor immediately of deposits which it receives on
account of compensation, giving the name and the residence of the depositor,
that of the injured person, the date of the injury, and its apparent causes.
Art. 111. The funds of the guaranty fund shall be used only as follows, in
conformity with article 10 of the law:
(1) To cover the expenses of the accident division.
(2) To pay compensation left unpaid by reason of a judicial decree o f abso
lute insolvency of the employers, provided the injured party has begun his
action within one month after the accident, and has proceeded with due dili
gence to establish his right. The period specified does not apply in cases of
force majeure or of insurmountable obstacles. The provisions of this article
shall be applied in each case with the advice of the National Department o f
Labor.
C hapter 7.—Suits for compensation
Art. 112. The injured workman, or the person or persons interested, is
entitled to bring suit against the employer before the competent judges, in
accordance with article 15 of the law. In such case the procedure shall be
summary, in accordance with said article of the law.
Art. 113. Before electing to sue judicially, any workman may ask the inter
vention of the National Department of Labor to require the employer to pay the
compensation to which he believes he is entitled.
Art. 114. In compliance with article 15 of the law, the competency of the
judges shall be regulated by the organic law of the courts of justice and of
justices of the peace in the Federal capital, and by the organic law of the
National Territories in the latter.
Art. 115. The injured worker or his heirs shall have the right of proceeding
in forma pauperis in case of legal proceedings to obtain compensation.
Art. 116. The National Department of Labor shall give free legal advice
to workers who submit cases of this nature to it.
Art. 117. When the National Government is responsible for an accident legal
proceedings may be brought without previous claims being made through admin
istrative channels or the congressional permission which Law No. 2952 requires
in regard to claims against the Government.
Art. 118. The representative of the General Office for Incompetents shall be
empowered to receive in his jurisdiction amounts to be deposited in the guar
anty fund, for which purpose the National Department of Labor shall notify
him of accidents which require his intervention.
C hapter 8.—Additional guaranties
A rt. 119. Workers and employees to whom Law No. 9688 refers may choose
between bringing a special action for compensation under this law or an action
under the common law for fraud or negligence of the employer. However, both
actions are exclusive and the initiation of one of them or the acceptance of any
sum thereunder shall of itself constitute a surrender of the rights under the
other.
Art. 120. The last part of the preceding article shall not apply when there
may have been deceit, fraud, or falsehood to induce the worker to accept com
pensation other than that granted by Law No. 9688.
Art. 121. In addition to his right of action against the employer, an injured
worker, or his representatives, retains the right of action against any third
person responsible for the accident, in accordance with the principles of the
Civil Code.
Art. 122. By “ third persons ” is understood persons who are not connected
with the industrial operation, the employer and his workers or employees thus
being excluded from such classification.
Art. 123. Compensation obtained from third persons under the preceding
provision shall relieve the employer of his liability for that part which the
third party who caused the accident is obliged to pay. If such part is less
24
LABOR LEGISLATION OP ARGENTINA
tlia?i tlie amount of the compensation to which the workman or his heirs are
entitled, they may demand the difference from the employer.
Art. 124. Actions arising out of Law No. 9688 shall be brought within one
year from the act from which the cause of action originated.
Chapter 9.—Exceptions
Art. 125. Employers are not liable under Law No. 9688 for accidents suffered
by their workers or employees whose annual wages exceed 3,000 pesos.
Art. 126. Nor are they liable for accidents suffered by workers in industries
not included in the list in article 2 of the law and article 7 of this regulation,
unless the executive authority, by a decree issued previous to the accident,
included the industries in which it occurred.
Art. 127. Compensation for accidents is allowable in accordance with this
law only when the incapacity to work continues longer than six working days.
Art. 128. For the purposes of the preceding article, disability resulting as
an immediate consequence of the accident shall be classified by the physicians.
Art. 129. Only when the workman returns to work and performs the same
work he did at the time of the accident shall his temporary disability be
understood to have ceased.
Art. 130. The employer is exempt from all liability for an industrial accident:
(a)
When the same has been intentionally caused by the injured person or
arises entirely through his serious fault.
(&) When due to force majeure extraneous to the work.
Likewise the employer shall not be liable to any of the heirs of an injured
person if the latter voluntarily caused the industrial accident or brought it
about through his serious fault.
Art. 131. For the purposes of the provision in paragraph (&) there is serious
fault on the part of the injured person when the industrial accident is due to a
violation of the work rules, provided they have been expressly approved by
the National Department of Labor; or if the cause of the accident could and
should have been avoided by measures which were within his reach at the
time of the accident.
Art. 132. The employer is liable in all cases when the workman performed
the act causing the accident by virtue of an order or authorization from the
employer or the directors of the work.
Art. 133. Carelessness in the work growing out of the continual perform
ance of any kind of work does not exempt the employer from liability.
Art. 134. For the purposes of the first part of article 131 the employers
should present in duplicate to the National Department of Labor the proposed
work rules for their respective establishments. The department shall take
them under advisement, and if they are worthy of approval shall file a copy
signed by the employer, in its archives. The other copy, signed by the head
of the department, shall be posted in the factory in a place indicated by the
labor inspector.
If, upon the occurrence of an industrial accident, the work rules are not in
their place, the first part of article 131 shall not apply.
Chapter 10.—Insurance companies
A rt. 135. Employers may satisfy their obligations relative to compensation
by insuring their employees and workmen in an insurance company or
[mutual] association of employers which meets the requirements hereafter
shown, provided the compensation shall be not less than that fixed by the
present law.
Art. 136. A workman may bring before the National Department of Labor,
his claim against an insurance company which does not pay the compensa
tion. Such claim may serve as the reason for the executive authority to
employ the measure referred to in article 144 of this regulation.
Art. 137. Accident insurance companies or employers’ [mutual] associa
tions which assume the employers’ obligations under this law must be licensed
for this purpose by the executive authority and organized in conformity
with article 20 of the law and the provisions of this regulation.
Art. 138. In order to obtain such license it shall be necessary:
(1)
To petition therefor in writing to the National Department of Labor,
attaching a certified copy of its by-laws if it is a stock company, and if not,
the articles of association;
tE X T OF LABOR LEGISLATION
25
(2) To deposit 50,000 pesos (national currency) in the Bank of the Argen
tine Nation in government bonds, which sum may not he withdrawn so long
as the company carries insurance in the country. A certificate of such de
posit shall accompany the petition referred to in the preceding article;
(3) To fulfill its liability to pay compensation in accordance with the
requirements of this law, fixing the scale of premiums according to the in
dustries and the anticipated cases of compensation in the same;
(4) To constitute, by annual accumulation, a reserve of 30 per cent of the
total amount of insurance underwritten which produces a balance each fiscal
year;
(5) To submit for the approval of the National Department of Labor the
clauses of the policy, for the purpose of the requirement of article 20, para
graph (<2), of the law and other conditions applicable;
(6) To maintain separate accounts for operations dealing with workmen’s
compensation insurance and those of any other kind of insurance which the
company may underwrite;
(7) To present to the National Department of Labor: (a) A balance sheet
or annual report of the company’s business; (&) A monthly report and an
account sheet containing a detailed statement, in accordance with a special
regulation, of insurance underwritten during the month and of the premiums
paid in.
Art. 139. Foreign companies which wish to establish branch offices in the
Republic of Argentina in order to do business in workmen’s insurance shall
comply with the requirements of article 138 of this regulation.
Art. 140. The companies shall also comply with every request for evidence
or additional reports which may be required by the administration in regard
to their financial standing and their business.
Art. 141. In addition to the supervision of the inspection bureau of the
Department of Justice (Inspeccidn General de Justicia) , the National Depart
ment of Labor shall inspect minutely the operation of any institution which
undertakes workmen’s insurance.
Art. 142. In case of proof showing irregularities indicating neglect to comply
with the requirements of article 138, the inspector shall ask for the revoca
tion of the license for workmen’s insurance.
Art. 143. When a company or an employers’ [mutual] association under
writing workmen’s insurance, or an employer owing compensation becomes
insolvent, the funds set apart for the payment of compensation shall not go
into the general fund, but shall be returned to the employer who contracted
for the insurance in the condition in which they were at the time of the insol
vency, or turned over to the fund for retirement annuities and pensions for the
creation of a pension.
Art. 144. The executive authority may revoke the license mentioned in
article 138 of insurance companies or employers’ [mutual] associations which do
not comply with their obligations concerning compensation. This measure
shall be taken after a report from the National Department of Labor.
Chapter 11.—Occupational diseases
Art. 145. For the purposes of the law hereby regulated, by “ occupational
diseases” will be understood only those which are caused exclusively by the
work of the injured person in the employment in which he was engaged.
Art. 146. When a workman is incapacitated from work or dies as the result
of a disease contracted in the exercise of his occupation, he shall be entitled to
the compensation granted by this law under the following conditions:
(a) The disease must be declared to have originated exclusively from the
kind of work performed by the worker during the year preceding his disability.
(b) If it should be proved that the workman suffered from this disease
before entering such employment, then no compensation shall be paid.
(c) Compensation shall be claimed from the last employer for whom the
man worked during the said year in the employment whose nature caused the
disease, unless it was shown that the disease was contracted while in the
service of other employers, in which case the latter shall be liable.
(d) If the disease, owing to its nature, could have been contracted gradu
ally, the other employers in whose service the workman was employed during
the last year on the kind of work which caused the disease are liable to the
last employer for a proportionate share of the compensation, to be fixed
by arbitrators if there is any controversy concerning it.
26
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA.
(e)
The employer in whose service a workman is disabled on account of a
disease shall make a report as in the case of an industrial accident.
Art. 147. Employers are absolutely prohibited from stating in letters of
recommendation which they give to workmen their occupational disease or
diseases.
Art. 148. In the cases under this chapter there shall be reported, as the date
of the accident, the date on which the disease manifested itself, causing real
incapacity to work.
Art. 149. The occupational diseases which, for the present, are included
for the purposes of the last paragraph of article 23 [22], of the law are:
Pneumoconiosis, pulmonary tabacosis, anthracosis, and siderosis, poisoning by
lead, mercury, copper, arsenic, carbon disulphide, hydrocarbons, and phosphorus,
ophthalmia due to ammonia, anthrax, dermatosis, and ankylostomiasis.
Art. 150. Any other disease which it is believed should be included in the
preceding enumeration shall be added as opportunity affords.
DECREE OF APRIL 30, 1917
Article 1. It is incumbent on the defender of the poor and incompetent
to report to the proper correctional judge violations of Law No. 9688, as well
as to prosecute the action for the imposition, collection, and payment into the
proper fund of the fine which is legally applicable in each case.
DECREE OF NOVEMBER 12, 1917
Article 1. Through the agency of the division of inspection the National
Department of Labor shall protect and defend injured workers or their
families when, after administrative efforts have been exhausted, it is neces
sary to resort to the courts.
Art. 2. The protection and defense of the worker shall be absolutely free
to the worker.
Art. 3. When, as a result of these trials, costs are imposed on the employer
the amount thereof shall be turned over to the social welfare fund.
Art. 4. The head of the National Department of Labor shall regulate the
exercise of this new function.
DECREE OF MAY 21, 1918
Article 1. The heirs of workers or employees who have died as the result
of industrial accidents who wish to exercise the optional right referred to
in article 17 of Law No. 9688 must prior thereto meet the following require
ments :
(а) Within one month following the death they shall state in writing
to the National Department of Labor that they waive the benefits of Law
No. 9688 in order to bring a civil action for damages.
(б) Before the same department and with the intervention of the fund
for retirement annuities and pensions in its character as administrator of the
guaranty fund they shall prove by the documents in the. case that they
qualify as heirs under Law No. 9688 as specified in articles 8 and 14 thereof.
(c)
Within two months following the death they shall present to the
National Department of Labor a certificate issued by the proper judicial
authority stating that civil action for damages has been brought.
Art. 2. For good and sufficient cause, the National Department of Labor
shall extend the period mentioned in the preceding article.
Art. 3, When the requirements of article 9 of Law No. 9688 are not com
plied with, the National Department of Labor shall require the employer
to deposit in the fund for retirement annuities and pensions the proper com
pensation, allowing the intervention, in a relevant case, of the representative
of the office of incompetents as provided for in article 16 of the same.
DECREE OF MAY 21, 1918
Article 1. The national fund for civil retirement annuities and pensions
shall hear and decide cases of compensation for industrial accidents in which
there are interested minors, with only the intervention of the parents or
guardians.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
27
DECREE OF OCTOBER 25, 1923
Article 1. The national fund for civil retirement annuities and pensions
shall decide applications for paying out the sums deposited for compensation
of industrial accidents, applying the law directly, without prejudice to the
proper judicial actions by those interested.
A rt. 2. Article 105 of the regulatory decree issued under Law No. 9688 is
hereby repealed.
DECREE OF NOVEMBER 20, 1923
A rticle 1. Compensation cases for industrial accidents suffered by Gov
ernment workers or employees shall be tried and decided by the Department
of the Interior.
PROVINCIAL REGULATORY DECREES
The following are the eight Provinces whose regulatory decrees issued under
the national workmen’s compensation law (No. 9688) are on file in the
Bureau of Labor Statistics and the dates of their enactment: Buenos Aires,
March 14, 1917; Cordoba, April 27, 1916; Entre Rios, May 10, 1917; Jujuy,
July 28,1922; Salta,10 May 7, 1921; San Luis, August 8,1916; Santa Fe, October
5, 1916; and Santiago del Estero, November 30, 1928. The Province of San
Juan issued such a regulatory decree on December 31, 1917, but the bureau has
received only extracts thereof.
Since these eight decrees are all patterned after the national regulatory
decree covering the Federal capital and the National Territories (see p. 13),
and are essentially identical, only the few variances will be given here.
Four Provinces (Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Salta, and Santiago del Estero)
have inserted in their decrees as to industrial accidents the following provision
which does not appear in the national regulatory decree:
Every industrial accident which an employee or worker suffers while render
ing his services, arising out of or in the course of the work, or the result
of a fortuitous occurrence or due to force majeure connected with the work,
shall be compensable, viz: (a) One or several injuries of a traumatic order:
Wounds, internal or external bruises, luxation, torsion, fractures, lacerations,
mutilations, or functional changes resulting from the traumatism; (b) acute
poisoning due to the emission of vapors, gases, or dusts; (c) burns or cauteri
zations resulting from the action of heat or of some corrosive liquid; ( d)
functional injuries or disturbances caused by electricity, light, or high or low
temperatures and which are not of the nature of an occupational disease; ( e)
acute infections caused by the absorption of some infectious matter to which
the worker has been exposed in an unexpected contact; (f ) contagious diseases
contracted as a direct and exclusive consequence of the work; (g) any other
condition resulting from an external cause inherent in the work which, acting
on the human body in a sudden and violent manner, destroys or diminishes
the economic capacity of the injured worker; (h) fortuitous events or force
majeure, considering as such, conditions caused by man or by nature which
could not have been anticipated nor avoided; and in case it might have been
foreseen, if the work itself, its elements, or the circumstances under which it
was carried on, have contributed in provoking the action or aggravating its
effects.
The provisions (arts. 86-104) in the national regulatory decree pertaining
to loading and unloading work in ports have been omitted in the decrees of
Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Entre Rios, Jujuy, Salta, and Santiago del Estero.
The Salta decree omits those provisions dealing with occupational diseases
(arts. 145-150).
Provisions (arts. 135-144) dealing with insurance companies have not been
included in the Jujuy decree.
10 This is a part of the Giiemes law, which also includes sections dealing with the 8-hour
day and the employment of women and children.
28
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Chapter 6 of the national regulatory decree pertaining to accident preven
tion measures is not found in the Salta decree, while only that section dealing
with scaffolds is omitted from the decree of Santiago del Estero.
The national decree contains in article 7 a list of 60 occupations or industries
covered by that law. The decree of Salta omits this list in its entirety, while
Jujuy deletes the following: Nos. 4-12, 15, 21-29, 31, 42, 45, 47, 49, 50-52, and
55. Entre Rios omits only Nos. 4, 9, and 10; and Santiago del Estero leaves
out Nos. 3, 7-10, 15, and 21, but it is the only Province which adds to the list
services rendered in connection with aviation. The occupations or industries cov
ered by the decree of Buenos Aires includes Nos. 1, 3, 6, 12-14, 19, 30, 32, 36, 37,
39, 40, 44, 53, 57, and 59, and adds the following: Textile industry, lumber
industry, metallurgical works, mills and other establishments engaged in the
manufacture of cereals, refineries in general, production and transmission of
energy, and works in which high and low temperatures are required.
ACCIDENT PREVENTION—AGRICULTURAL MACHINERY
DECREE OF SEPTEMBER 18, 1923
A rticle 1. All portable or traction steam engines, coupled to threshing ma
chines, shelters, etc.. must be provided with a plate or certificate showing an
inspection by an authorized technical expert.
Art. 2. Said inspection shall include an examination and hydraulic test of
the boiler, the seal of the safety valve, the control of the fusible plug, and other
auxiliary instruments, and shall be made, normally, each year, and in a special
manner every time the boiler is subjected to an important adjustment.
Art. 3. During the threshing and shelling season a local inspection must be
made with the object of proving: (a) Whether the engine is run by an operator
having a certificate accrediting him as such; ( b) whether he has altered the
controls of the safety valve, the fusible plug, etc.; (c) whether the cleaning,
washing, and scaling of the boilers are done correctly and periodically, as
needed.
Art. 4. Every year in the months of July and August the owners of steam
engines for agricultural use shall give notice to the Ministry of Agriculture
whether they will use the engines the next season.
Art. 5. All portable or traction steam engines may be run only by persons
having the following qualifications: (a) He is of age; (&) he holds a certificate
of ability which proves him to be qualified for said employment.
Art. 6. The certificate of ability will be given after a theoretical and practi
cal examination in the school or branch office specified by the Ministry of
Agriculture.
Art. 7. The owner of a portable or traction steam engine, w’hich is run with
out a certificate of inspection or who intrusts it to an operator without a cer
tificate of ability, shall pay a fine of 100 pesos (national currency) the first
time and 200 pesos the second time.
Art. 8. The Ministry of Agriculture shall issue regulations for the applica
tion of this decree.
PAYMENT OF WAGES IN NATIONAL CURRENCY
LAW NO. 11278 OF AUGUST 5, 1925
Article 1 (as amended by Law No. 11337 of September 9, 1926). All wages
or salaries of wage earners or salaried employees shall be paid exclusively in
legal national currency, under penalty of nullity.
Payment by bank check shall be allowed only when it is for one pay period
and for a sum not less than 300 pesos (national currency).
Art. 2. Payments shall be made at the following intervals:
(a) In work at a fixed wage, by the month;
(b) In work by the day, every 15 days;
(c ) In work paid by the piece or quantity, every 15 days for work com
pleted within said period, and an amount proportionate to the value of work
TEXT OE LABOR LEGISLATION
29
partly completed; a sum not exceeding one-third of the amount may be retained
as a guaranty.
( d) If the remuneration is by the piece or quantity or by a fixed wage sup
plemented by a commission on sales, a share in the profits, or any other device,
the rate—by the piece or quantity—and the supplementary amount, as well as
the time of payment of the latter, shall be fixed in advance and posted at the
work place or the place where the wages are paid.
(e ) The National Executive authority shall fix maximum periods, in no case
longer than one week, within which payment must be made for each period.
The National Executive authority may authorize transportation enterprises
established by national concession and government operations to pay wages in
all such cases at monthly intervals, if previous agreement to that effect has been
made between the respective employers’ and workers’ organizations.
Art. 3. Wages shall be paid on working days, during working hours, and
at the work place. They shall not be paid in places where merchandise is
sold nor where alcoholic beverages are retailed, either as the principal or a
subsidiary branch of the business, except for such persons as may be working
therein.
Art. 4. In no case may any deduction, retention, or set-off be made from
the amount of the wages or salaries, nor shall there be any delay in pay
ment. This prohibition shall apply especially to deductions, retentions or
set-offs in the form of fines, delivery of merchandise, provision of food, rent,
the use of tools, or any other loans in kind or in money. Employers who are
guilty of violating these provisions shall be liable to the payment of interest
on the pay withheld, without prejudice to the penalties hereafter specified.
Art. 5. An exception to the provision in the preceding article is made when
a workman or employee intentionally causes damage to the workshops, tools,
or work materials. When damage is thus done, the employer or manager may,
judicially, set apart a part of the wage or salary proportionate to the damage
done.
Art. 6. Employees or workmen employed by contractors or intermediaries
shall have the right to demand from the persons for whom said intermediaries
or contractors work, that they retain and deliver to them the amount of the
salaries or wages due for any pay period as established by this law, if on the
day it was due it was not paid.
Art. 7. The shares in the profits and the supplemental payments referred
to in this law shall be entitled to the same privileges as salaries and wages, in
accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code.
Art 8. Employees and workmen shall not be liable to fines other than those
determined by regulations issued by the national executive authority or the
Provincial governments. Such fines shall not in any case exceed one-fifth of the
total amount of the monthly or semimonthly wage or salary.
Art. 9. In cases of violation of the present law, employers shall be
liable to a fine of from 20 to 100 pesos (national currency) for each person
involved in the said violation; in the case mentioned in article 1 the maximum
fine shall be imposed, without prejudice to the penalty of nullity provided for
therein, and in case of a repetition of the offense the fine shall be doubled. The
revenue from these fines shall be turned over to the funds of the National
Council of Education or the Provincial councils. Fines shall be collected in the
Federal capital and the National Territories by the procedure established in
Law No. 9658, and in the Provinces in conformity with the laws passed for such
purpose.
A rt. 10. This law is a general public law and renunciation of its benefits shall
not release anyone from the obligations and penalties which it imposes.
Art. 11. The provisions of this law shall be incorporated in the Civil and
Commercial Codes, and any provisions contrary thereto shall be repealed; the
provisions of this law shall become effective four months after its promulgation.
PROVINCIAL LAWS OR DECREES
The three Provinces whose laws or regulatory decrees under national Law No.
11278, as amended by Law No. 11337, concerning the payment of wages in
national currency, are on file in the bureau, are as follows: Buenos Aires; 11
n Date of decree not given.
100691°—30----- 3
30
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Jujuy, July 1, 1924; and Santiago del Estero, October 6, 1928. Since these laws
or decrees are essentially identical with the national law, it has not been con
sidered practicable to publish them.
ATTACHMENT AND ASSIGNMENT OF SALARIES, WAGES, AND
RETIREMENT ANNUITIES
LAW NO. 9511 OF OCTOBER 2, 1914
A rticle 1. Salaries, wages, retirement annuities, and pensions which do not
exceed 100 pesos monthly shall not be attached, nor can they be assigned or
transferred to a third party.
A rt. 2. Salaries, wages, annuities, and pensions which exceed 100 pesos may
be attached only in the proportion established in the following scale, even in
cases of proved transfer constituting rights of their full value: (a) From 101 to
150 pesos, up to 5 per cent of the monthly amount; (&) from 151 to 200 pesos,
up to 10 per cent of the monthly amount; (c) from 201 to 300 pesos, up to 15
per cent of the monthly amount; (d) from 301 to 500 pesos, up to 20 per cent
of the monthly amount; (e) over 500 pesos, 25 per cent of the monthly amount.
Art. 3. The national fund for retirement annuities and pensions may invest
up to one-half of its capital in advances to employees, which shall bear 8 per
cent interest annually and a monthly cumulative amortization of 1, 2, and 3
per cent, according to the employee’s service of 15, 10, or 5 years, respectively,
but in a sum not to exceed 50 per cent of the total of the cumulated deductions
for each of the applicants for the purposes of the retirement annuity and pension
law, and in advances of one month’s salary, returnable at the expiration of the
same with the said interest, which shall be granted to those who have served
more than one year.
For the operations authorized by this law, the accounting office of the fund
shall issue the certificates concerning the years of service and salary of the
employee who makes the application, and the head of the fund shall forward to
the National General Accounting Office the monthly lists of the deductions to
be made from the. salaries of the personnel.
Transactions of tlie fund shall be exempt from taxes.
Art. 4. The first and second articles of this law are not applicable in cases
concerning credits for litigation expends (litis expens a) for maintenance pen
sions and to those arising from transactions with the national fund for retire
ment annuities and pensions.
HOME WORK
LAW NO. 10505
OF OCTOBER 8, 1918 (FOR FEDERAL CAPITAL AND
NATIONAL TERRITORIES)
A rticle 1. The provisions of this law shall apply in the Federal Capital and
the National Territories, and shall affect all persons, without distinction of sex,
who perform at home, customarily or as an occupation, manual work or service
for another.
This law does not cover domestic service.
Art. 2. All owners, directors, or managers of industrial or commercial con
cerns who give out work to be f me in the worker’s home shall keep a register
containing the full names of the workers, their addresses, the quality and
nature of the work given to them, and the remuneration which they are to
receive.
The register shall be open tc inspection by the inspectors of the National
Department of Labor who may, on suitable days and at suitable hours, examine
it whenever they deem it necessary.
Failure to keep a register in the form prescribed or the entering of false data
therein shall be punished by a fine of from 100 to 300 pesos (national currency)
for each violation.
A rt. 3. As soon as a worker receives materials to be worked on in his home
he must be given a work book, in which the nature and quality of the work,
the date on which it was given out, the remuneration to be paid him, and the
value of the materials supplied shall be entered.
When the finished work is returned, the date thereof and the price paid shalj
be entered in the work book.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
31
The conditions of payment in case the materials supplied to the worker are
lost or damaged shall be clearly expressed in the work book, as well as the
name and address of any guarantors.
A rt. 4. Owners, directors, or managers of commercial or industrial estab
lishments may impose fines on workers for defective work, damage to materials
being considered defective work.
3STo fine shall exceed one-sixth of the wages estimated by the day.
A rt. 5. Places in which only members of a family are employed, under the
authority of one of them, shall not be subject to inspection if they fulfill the
following conditions: (1) The work does not involve the use of a steam boiler;
(2) the trade carried on is not included among those held to be dangerous or
unhealthful.
A rt. 6. Unless they have well-founded information to the effect that the con
ditions laid down in the preceding section are not observed, inspectors shall
not have access to domestic workshops.
Art. 7. Whenever inspectors find that a domestic workshop uses a steam
boiler or that the work done is dangerous or unhealthful, they shall impose a
fine of from 50 to 100 pesos (national currency), on the manager of the work
shop and order the regulations for sanitation and safety prescribed for fac
tories and workshops to be observed, under penalty of closing the workshop if
these measures are not adopted within a fixed time.
A rt. 8. The making, repair, adornment, cleaning, fitting, or other work on
footwear, hats, clothing, textiles, or flowers, or the elaboration, or packing of
articles of consumption, in a house in which a person is suffering from an
infectious or contagious disease or in a dwelling used by a person suffering
from tuberculosis shall be absolutely prohibited.
Art. 9. The owner or manager of any business who accepts articles made
in a place wherein the conditions described in the preceding article exist shall
be punishable by a fine of 200 pesos (national currency), whenever it is
proved that he had knowledge of the case of illness.
Art. 10. The managers or principal lessees of houses occupied by home
workers are required to report to the health authority any cases of infectious
or contagious diseases which occur therein, being liable, in case of failure
so to do, to a fine of 200 pesos, and the inspectors shall then prohibit the home
work and the removal of the goods specified in article 8, and if they consider
it necessary, order their disinfection.
A rt. 11. Physicians attending persons suffering from tuberculosis who ob
serve that any of the work specified in article 8 is performed in the dwelling
shall immediately report it to the principal lessee and to the proper authority,
as in the case of a notifiable disease.
Art. 12. Work can not be resumed in a building in which there has been
a case of infectious or contagious disease, or in which a tubercular patient
has lived, until the sick person has recovered or been removed, and the
dwelling has been properly disinfected in the presence of a competent au
thority.
A rt. IB. The National Department of Labor shall appoint wage commissions
in municipalities (municipios) for every industry in which home workers are
employed, whenever so requested in writing by at least 50 workers in any
organization or industry. These commissions shall have the duty of fixing
minimum hourly or piece rates of wages, conforming to the national laws
respecting maximum hours of labor.
Art. 14. The wage commissions shall be composed of an equal number of
representatives of employers and of workers, of either sex and of legal age,
in the industries concerned.
The number of members of each wage commission shall be fixed, according
to circumstances, by the National Department of Labor.
The representatives of employers and of workers shall be elected by the
parties whom they represent in the form to be determined in the regulations
under this law.
In case the representatives are not elected within the time fixed, they shall
be appointed by the Executive Authority ‘officially from names submitted by
the National Department of Labor.
Each wage commission shall be presided over by a person not belonging
to the board and appointed by the executive authority on the proposal of the
National Department of Labor,
32
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
A rt. 15. The wage commissioners shall hold office for two years, and may
be reelected indefinitely.
A majority of the members shall constitute a quorum, but there shall always
be present at least two representatives of the workers when there are more
than two such representatives.
A commission shall meet, at the call of its chairman, in the municipal
assembly liall whenever necessary or on petition of a third of the members.
A rt. 16. The wage commissions shall pass upon every petition for the fixing
of a mimimum wage for home work in the occupations coming within their
jurisdiction. The petition may be made by one of the members, by the labor
inspectors, or by 10 workers concerned.
The decisions shall be rendered by a simple majority of the votes of those
present, and in case of a tie the chairman shall cast the deciding vote.
A rt. 17. Wage commissions, in fixing a minimum wage, shall bear in mind:
1. The nature of the work; 2. the current market price of the finished article;
3. the worker’s necessary living expenses; 4. the minimum wage received by
workers in factories or workshops of the Federal Capital or the National Terri
tories producing the same or a similar article; 5. local customs and the prices
of dwellings and of the necessary articles of consumption in the district or
town where the industry or business is carried on; 6. the value of the accessories
or the tools required by the workmen for the performance of the work.
A rt. 18. The minimum wages fixed by the commission shall be paid in their
entirety to the worker, without any deduction for the remuneration of con
tractors or subcontractors.
A rt. 19. The decisions of the commission shall be published in a form to be
determined by the National Department of Labor. The wage scale shall be
posted in the places where the raw materials are delivered to the workers and
printed in the receipt for the finished work returned by them. Any contractor
industrialist, or merchant not complying with this requirement shall incur a
fine of from 100 to 300 pesos (national currency). The minimum wage shall
become effective 15 days after the publication of the decision.
Art. 20. Any employer guilty of having paid a wage which is less than the
minimum fixed for that work shall be liable to a fine of 300 pesos (national
currency).
These same penalties shall be applicable to any other violations of this law
for which no special punishment is fixed.
Art. 21. Any worker who has been paid a wage which is less than the one
fixed by the wage commission may, notwithstanding any agreement to the
contrary, demand from his contractor the balance of his wage, and he may,
moreover, claim any damages and interest involved in the case.
Right to legal action shall expire at the end of a year, counting, for each
payment, from the day when it is made.
A rt. 22. Inspectors, wage commissions, the National Department of Labor,
and judicial authorities shall exercise special vigilance in regard to the pay
ment of wages according to the established rates, and shall take particular
pains to see that they are paid in cash.
Art. 23. The justices of the peace of the various localities shall have authority
to pass on any disputes arising in the application of this law concerning the
payment of the wages fixed by the wage commissions where the amount
claimed does not exceed 500 pesos (national currency), and the civil judges
when it exceeds that sum. The decisions of the justices of the peace may be
taken on appeal to the civil judges; those of the latter, in matters in which
they have jurisdiction, to the courts of appeals.
These decisions, shall be summary, oral and effective.
A rt. 24. In all the actions in which the employers and workers are required
to appear before the authorities in petition, complaint, or defense of their
rights recognized by this law, they shall not be required to pay stamp duties,
fees, remuneration, or any form of compensation whatever for services which
are to be rendered directly or indirectly by the officials in question, and any of
them who violates this provision shall be sentenced to pay a fine of ten times the
amount of the fee charged.
Art. 25. Fines imposed for violations of the provisions of this law shall go
to the National Council of Education.
A rt. 26. The executive authority shall issue regulations under this law.
TEXT OF LABOB LEGISLATION
33
REGULATORY DECREE OF DECEMBER 30, 1918 (FOR FEDERAL
CAPITAL)
A rticle 1. Law No. 10505 shall apply in the Federal capital in accordance
with the provisions of the present regulatory decree, the National Department
of Labor having the duty of enforcing it.
Definitions
A rt. 2. By “ home work ” is meant, for the purposes of the law, any kind of
industrial transformation executed, customarily or as an occupation, by workers
in their dwellings, provided such work is performed, in whole or in part for an
employer and by his order.
A rt. 3. Persons engaged in this kind of work are called “ home workers,”
without distinction as to sex or age; but those performing domestic service
and those who work for themselves in their homes are not included under this
term.
Art. 4. A “ domestic workshop ” is one formed by “ home workers ” belonging
to the head of the family or his wife, provided the workers live in the same
house.
A rt. 5. By “ employers” is meant manufacturers, merchants, middlemen,
contractors, subcontractors, etc., who give out or order home work, regardless
of whether they furnish the materials and tools, or fix the wage by the job,
by the piece, or in some other form.
Registers
Art. 6. Each employer is required to keep a “ register of home workers,”
which shall be authorized and stamped by the National Department of Labor
and in which shall be entered the full names of the workers, their addresses,
the quality and nature of the work assigned, and the remuneration which they
are to receive.
Art. 7. Every home worker shall have a book, given him by the employer,
in which shall be entered all the items required by article 3 of the law, and
it shall not be valid unless it bears the stamp of the National Department of
Labor.
A rt. 8. For the purpose of supervision of the observance of the preceding
provisions the National Department of Labor shall keep a “ register of persons
employing home workers,” in which every employer who employs home workers
under the said conditions shall see that he is enrolled. The time limit for
enrollment shall be one month from the date of the publication of this decree
or from the date on which any new employer establishes himself thereafter.
Safety and sanitation
Art. 9. In domestic workshops it is forbidden to use steam boilers or to
engage in an industry classed as dangerous or unhealthful, without an official
inspection and compliance with the sanitary and safety measures prescribed
for factories and workshops.
A rt. 10. The making, repair, adornment, cleaning, fitting, or other work
on footwear, hats, clothing, textiles or flowers, and the elaboration or packing
of articles of consumption in a house where there is anyone suffering from
an infectious or contagious disease or in a dwelling which is or has been used
by anyone suffering from tuberculosis, is absolutely prohibited.
A rt. 11. The managers or principal lessees of houses occupied by home
workers are in duty bound to report all cases of infectious or contagious
diseases occurring therein to the division of inspection of the National De
partment of Labor. Infectious or contagious diseases, for the purposes of
such report, are tuberculosis, anthrax, typhoid fever, leprosy, scabies, measles,
smallpox, scarlet fever, diphtheria, and trachoma.
The National Department of Labor shall, on the same day, transmit the report
to the National Department of Health. Its truthfulness being established, work
in that dwelling shall be prohibited until further order, which shall not be issued
except on information furnished by the said Department of Health.
Art. 12. The report required by article 11 of the law of doctors attending a
tubercular patient in a dwelling where such home work is carried on must be
34
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
made to the National Department of Labor either personally or by registered
letter.
The report, when received, shall follow the same course as that specified in
article 11 of this regulation.
A rt . 13. The report regarding a home worker suffering from an infectious or
contagious disease may be made to the National Department of Labor per
sonally by any neighbor or responsible person. Such report shall be given due
consideration, the name of the person making it being kept secret, if he so
requests.
Wage commissions
A rt. 14. The wage commissions to which article 13 of the law refers shall be
established by the National Department of Labor on the written petition of home
workers or employers thereof, provided the number of the former is not less
than 50, and that of the latter, 3. The division of inspection shall ascertain
whether the petitioners are of age. The head of the department shall fix, in
each case, the number of employers’ representatives and of workers’ repre
sentatives who shall constitute the commission. The two parties shall always
have equal representation.
Art. 15. The division of inspection shall keep a register of workers’ and employers’ associations. On oral application of the secretary, all the organizations
of home workers or of the employers thereof shall be enrolled in said register.
For this purpose, it is not necessary that such organizations possess legal capac
ity, nor need all its members be workers or employers of the home industry; it
need only be an organization including persons engaged in this class of work.
A rt. 16. The members of the wage commissions shall be elected by the mem
bers of the workers’ and the employers’ associations of the respective trade or
occupation which are enrolled in the register of associations. Should there be
more than one association of the same kind enrolled, the nomination of the
representatives shall be pro rata.
A rt . 17- In case there are no associations enrolled, the head of the National
Department of Labor shall propose to the Executive Authority for nomination
workers’ and employers’ representatives chosen from those persons who signed
the petition referred to in article 14 of this decree. The Executive Authority on
the proposal of said department, shall also nominate the chairmen of the wage
commissions, such appointees necessarily being persons not members of these
commissions.
A rt. 18. Each wage commission shall be governed by its own rules. It may
not, however, depart from the following principles: (a) The chairman may
take part in all deliberations, but may vote only in case of a tie; (&) all other
members shall be entitled to vote, and shall have equal rights and duties; (c)
the member chosen as secretary shall always have a voice and a vote; ( d) all
proceedings and resolutions shall be recorded in the minutes; (e) no meeting
shall be valid ai: which less than half the voting members are present; ( f )
even if a majority is present, no meeting shall be valid unless there are at
least two representatives of the workers present.
A rt. 19. The chairman shall call the commission together, and the meetings
may be held either in the assembly hall of the City Council or in the National
Department of Labor. The wage commission may meet: (a) At the call of
its chairman; (&) on petition to the chairman by one-third of its voting mem
bers; (c) on petition by the head of the National Department of Labor.
Art. 20. The chairman of the wage commission may apply to the head of
the National Department of Labor for any kind of data and information
which he may deem necessary for the better performance of his duties.
Minimum wage rates
Art. 21. The wage commissions shall proceed to the fixing of wage scales
in accordance with the provisions of articles 16 and 17 of Law No. 10505.
A rt. 22. Each minimum wage scale must, in order to be valid, contain the
following: (a) Date of its approval by the wage commission; (&) period for
which it shall be in effect—this period may not exceed one year; (c) a de
tailed specification in which, opposite each operation or job, there shall be
stated the corresponding minimum wage; (d) the signature of the chairman
and voting members present at the meeting at which the scale was approved.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
35
Art. 23. When the scale has been approved by the wage commission, the
chairman thereof shall send it, with a note, to the head of the National De
partment of Labor, who shall see to its publication in the Boletin Oficial and
at the same time endeavor to give it the greatest publicity possible by other
means. Fifteen days after the publication of the scale in the Boletin Oficial
the minimum wage rates established therein shall be binding on all employers
in the class of industries to which it refers. Within the said period of 15
days, the scale shall be posted conspicuously in all places where such work is
delivered or paid for.
Art. 24. The wage rates specified in the scale shall be regarded simply as
minimum rates, and for no reason and under no pretext may a lower remuner
ation be paid. There is not excluded, therefore, the making of average or
maximum wage scales, but the latter shall not have the character of obligatory
rates. The rates shall be uniform, and in case of doubt concerning the inter
pretation of one or more items of the scale the commission in which it origi
nated shall be consulted.
Art. 25. Each new wage scale must carry a clause repealing the preceding
one. Even when its term of operation has expired, the scale shall continue
in force until a new one is adopted. Scales of wages shall be designated by
the date of their approval by the wage commission. The division of inspec
tion of the National Department of Labor shall register in a special book all
the official home-work scales, and shall give official notice of them to judges and
other parties concerned.
Inspection
Art. 26. Homes of employers and of workmen may not be inspected except
on suitable days and hours.
A rt. 27. Dwellings of those performing home work individually are not sub
ject to inspection, nor are the places where home work is performed by the
members of a family, except when the work is done with the aid of a steam
boiler or when the industry carried on is among those classed as dangerous or
unhealthful.
Art. 28. If the inspectors of the National Department of Labor learn that
in a family workshop work is performed clandestinely with the aid of a steam
boiler or that an industry classed as dangerous or unhealthful is carried on,
they shall proceed to investigate the violation and to apply the provisions of
article 7 of the law.
Art. 29. It shall be the duty of the labor inspectors: 1. To ascertain whether
the employers are enrolled in the register of persons employing home workers
referred to in article 8 of these regulations, the enrollment to be proved by the
proper certificate; (2) to make sure that employers keep, in proper form, the
register of home workers referred to in article 6 of these regulations; (3) to
make sure that workers possess the work book referred to in article 7 of these
regulations; (4) to make sure that the scale of wages is posted conspicuously
in the various working places; (5) to make sure, in so far as this is possible,
that wage payments are made in accordance with the said scales; (6) to at
tend to complaints made by the parties concerned, and to ascertain their truth
by investigating the facts reported; (7) to make the inspection of houses re
ferred to in articles 27 and 28 of this decree.
Art. 30. It shall be the duty of the division of inspection: 1. To organize the
inspection service for the better enforcement of this law; (2) to propose stand
ard forms, books, registers, etc.; (3) to register all wage scales; and (4) to
present annually a detailed statement of everything relative to compliance
with the law, results of its application, and any changes which it may be
necessary to make in the law or in this decree.
Art. 31. It shall be the duty of the statistical division to assemble data and
to classify the material so gathered with a view to furnishing statistical infor
mation relative to home work in the Federal Capital.
Art. 32. It shall be the duty of the heads of the National Department of
Labor: 1. To intervene in all disputes which may arise between employers and
home workers, either by offering their mediation in order to avoid the effects
of a conflict, by proposing conciliation between the parties, or by suggesting
arbitration or acting directly as arbitrators if the parties so request; 2. to
solicit the aid of the health authorities to improve the sanitary conditions of
the places where home work is performed; 3. to maintain relations between
the wage commissions and the National Department of Labor.
36
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Penalties
Art. 33. In accordance with article 20, second paragraph, of the law, the
penalty established in said article shall be imposed in the following cases:
1. When home work is given a worker who does not possess a work book or
when such book is not in accordance with the' requirements of this decree;
(2) When the work books do not contain the items referred to in article 3 of
the law, or contain them in an incorrect form; (3) when the employer giving
out home work is not enrolled in the employers* register referred to in article
8 of this regulation.
Art. 34. The imposition of the penalties established by Law No. 10505 shall
be governed by the procedure set forth in Law No. 9658.
8-HOUR DAY
LAW NO. 11544 OF SEPTEMBER 12, 1929
Article 1. Working hours shall not exceed 8 hours a day or 48 a week for
any person employed by another in public or private operations, even though
rhey are not carried on for profit.
Agricultural work, stock raising, domestic service, and establishments in
which only the members of the family of the head, owner, contractor, mana
ger, director, or principal paymaster are employed, are not included under the
provisions of this law.
Art. 2. Night work may not exceed 7 hours, understanding as such that
performed between 9 p. m. and 6 a. m. When the work has to be performed
in unhealthful places in which the contamination of the air or its compression,
emanations, or poisonous dusts endanger the health of the workers employed,
the working hours shall not exceed 6 a day or 36 a week. The executive
authority shall determine directly or at the request of the interested party, and
after previous report from the technical divisions, the cases in which the 6-hour
working day shall apply.
Art. 3. In the operations included in article 1, exceptions may be made as
follows: When the work is that of administration or inspection; when it is
done by shifts the work can be extended beyond 8 hours a day and 48 a week,
on condition that the average length of the working hours for a period of three
weeks at least shall not exceed 8 hours a day or 48 hours a week; in case of
actual or impending accident or in case of urgent work to be performed on the
machines, equipment, or installations, or in case of force majeure, but only as a
necessary measure to avoid serious hindrance in the regular work of the estab
lishment and only when the work can not be done during the normal working
day, it being necessary to report the fact immediately to the authorities who
have charge of enforcement of this law.
Art. 4. The regulations of the executive authority may fix by industry, com
merce, occupation, and by district: The permanent exceptions which are admis
sible for preparatory or complementary work which must necessarily be per
formed outside of the limit assigned for general work in the establishment or
for certain classes of persons whose work is especially intermittent; the
temporary exceptions which are admissible in order to permit the enterprise
to cope with the extraordinary demands of the work. In granting these
authorizations the amount of unemployment shall be taken into consideration.
Art. 5. All regulations and exceptions must be made after previous consulta
tion with the respective employers’ and workers’ organizations and the maxi
mum number of supplementary hours which are to be authorized in each case
shall be fixed therein.
The wage rate for these supplementary hours shall be increased by at least
50 per cent of the normal wage and by 100 per cent when the work is done on
holidays.
Art. 6. In order to facilitate the enforcement of this law, each employer must,
by means of notices posted in conspicuous places in the establishment or in
any other suitable place, announce the hours for beginning and stopping work;
or, if the work is done by shifts, the hours for beginning and stopping of
each shift shall be fixed so that the limits prescribed by this law
shall not be exceeded, and once modified it shall be in effect in this form, and
can not be modified without a new notice made in advance as determined by
the executive authority; announce in the same manner the rest periods granted
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
37
during the working day, which shall not be computed therein; enter on a reg*
ister all the supplementary hours allowed by virtue of the provisions of articles
3, 4, and 5 of this law.
Art. 7. The provisions of this law may be wholly or partially suspended
by a decree of the national executive authority in case of war or of circum
stances which involve imminent danger to public safety.
Art. 8. Violations of the provisions of this law shall be punished by fines
of from 10 to 50 pesos for each person who is affected by a violation, the
proceeds of which shall go toward the national or Provincial elementary
education funds, as the case may be.
A rt. 9. In the Federal Capital and the National Territories the National
Department of Labor and in the Provinces those whom the respective govern
ments appoint, are the administrative authorities.
A rt. 10. The representatives of the administrative authority are empowered
to visit establishments to which this law refers in order to prove violations
and they can require the cooperation of the police.
A rt . 11. In addition to the injured parties, employers’ and workers’ organi
zations by their directors and also the administrative authority may report
and accuse violators.
A rt. 12. This law shall be incorporated in the Civil Code and shall become
effective six months after it is promulgated.
PROVINCIAL LAWS
Of the 14 Provinces 7 have legally established the 8-hour day: Cordoba, De
cember 19,1919; Mendoza, November 1, 1918; Salta, August 28, 1923; San Juan,
November 29, 1923; San Luis, December 31, 1923; Santa Fe, June 17, 1927;
and Tucuman, March 24, 1923.
While the Provincial laws differ in some respects as regards minor details
they are essentially identical to the law of Tucuman given here:
L aw
of
T u c u m a n 12
A rticle 1. The legal working day throughout the territory of the Province
shall not exceed 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week in sugar mills, agri
cultural enterprises, factories, power houses, manufacturing establishments,
workshops in general, wholesale and retail commercial establishments, trans
port enterprises, construction work in general, loading and unloading enter
prises, and public or private establishments in general, even if they have
the character of vocational training.
Art. 2. In case of agreement between workers and employers, the depart
ment of labor may authorize a 10-hour working day on 60 days in the year
in indoor work places, and on 90 days in the year if the work is performed
in the open air. Overtime shall be paid 50 per cent more than the normal
wage, whether on timework or piecework.
Art. 3. Any agreement or contract contrary to the provisions of this law
shall be null and void.
Art. 4. Members of the managerial staff, employers, or their agents who
violate the provisions of this law shall be liable to a fine of 10 pesos (national
currency) per day and per person; in the event of a repetition of the offense
the fine shall be doubled.
A rt. 5. The application of the 8-hour day shall not be a valid ground for
a reduction in wages.
A rt. 6. All provisions contrary to this law are repealed.
REGULATORY DECREE OF APRIL 30, 1923 s*
A rticle 1. The law of March 24, 1923, in respect to the legal working day,
shall be applied from the date hereof, in conformity with the following regula
tions :
Art. 2. The following establishments shall be subject to the provisions of
article 1 of the law, in addition to those expressly mentioned therein: (a) Fac
“ Cronica Mensual del Departamento National del Trabajo, May, 1923, p. 1055.
u Cronica Mensual del Departamento Nacional del Trabajo, July, 1923, p. 1077.
38
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
tories, workshops, industrial establishments in general; ( b) construction,
maintenance, and repair of buildings, railways, wells, dams, canals, roads,
and similar works; (c) mines and quarries; (d) transport enterprises; (e)
forestry and agricultural industries as regards workers employed on manual
work or in transport work or motor service; (f ) printing and bookbinding,
including persons employed on the composition and presswork of newspapers
and periodicals; (g) pharmacies as regards the nonlicensed laboratory staff,
clerks, and unskilled laborers; ( h) slaughterhouses, butchers’ shops, prepara
tion of by-products thereof; (i) furniture, carriage-building, and lighting in
dustries; (/) cleaning of roads, streets, public squares, and wells; (k) com
mercial establishments as regards office employees, clerks, transport workers,
and unskilled laborers; in general, private establishments employing other per
sons besides the owner of the establishment or members of his family, provided
the latter are not employed in the capacity of wage-earning or salaried
employees.
Art. 3. The establishments included in the preceding section shall keep a
register of their employees showing the distribution of working hours.
The list shall be drawn up in duplicate, one copy being posted in a con
spicuous place within the establishment and another forwarded every two
weeks to the department of labor.
Art. 4. The register required by the preceding section shall comprise the
wage-earning and salaried employees employed both inside and outside the
establishment. Where the work is job work done inside and outside the work
shop or factory, the name and address of the persons employed, the quantity
and nature of the work given to them, the date when the work was given
out, and the date when it was completed shall be entered in the register in
order to show that longer working hours than the legal working day are not
required for the work in question.
A rt. 5. The maximum legal hours of work shall be eight per day and 48
per week.
This limit may be exceeded up to a maximum of 10 hours per day, provided
the total working hours in the six working days of the week shall not ex
ceed 48.
A rt . 6. The legal working day shall not apply to persons with purely ad
ministrative or supervisory functions, such as foremen, overseers, etc., nor to
persons employed in domestic service.
Art. 7. For the purposes of the preceding section, persons employed in do
mestic service shall mean persons working for a wage in the service of other
persons or families, with the object of working for and attending them, to the
exclusion of work for purposes of direct gain, in commerce or industry.
A rt. 8. W orkers employed in transport w ork shall not stop w ork until they
have finished the task assigned to them ; but they shall be entitled later to a
rest period equivalent to the number o f hours which they have worked in excess
o f the legal working day, and ho deduction shall be made from their wage, nor
shall it be reduced in any way because o f such rest period.
The same shall apply to wage-earning and salaried employees who are em
ployed on work which, by its nature, can not be suspended at the end of the
legal working day without evident injury to the industry or business in question
or to public order.
Art. 9. The owners or managers of the establishments referred to in the
preceding section shall make up a list every two weeks, giving the names of the
persons employed and the compensatory rest periods due to each. The list must
be signed by the employees concerned, or, if they can not write or are otherwise
unable to sign, proof must be furnished of its having been brought to their notice.
A rt. 10. In case of continuous processes carried on day and night, the changes
of shift shall be made at the times previously fixed in conformity with custom,
and the rest periods of such workers shall begin or end at the same hours.
Art. 11. Employers or their agents who desire the authorization referred to
in article 2 of the law, as regards the maximum working day, shall apply in
writing to the department of labor, giving the reasons justifying a 10-hour day
and the number of wage-earning or salaried employees strictly necessary for the
work in question. Particulars respecting the wages due and the additional
payments for overtime shall also be given.
Art. 12. If the department of labor has satisfied itself by inquiry that the
wage-earning or salaried employees have given their consent, and also that
overtime is necessary, it shall give its authorization for a fixed period which
shall not exceed the limits fixed by the law.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
39
Art. 13. If the reasons for which the authorization was given cease to exist,
or if the employers make improper use of the authorization, the department of
labor shall at once give the employers 48 hours’ notice of its withdrawal, without
prejudice to any penalties which may have been incurred. In this case, as in
the case of the preceding section, an appeal from the decision of the department
may be made to the department of the interior [Ministerio de Gobierno].
A rt . 14. The department of labor shall be responsible for the application and
supervision of the provisions of the law and the regulations for its adminis
tration.
A rt . 15. Whenever the department shall deem it necessary, it shall proceed to
conduct a general or partial inspection to ascertain whether the legal working
day is observed.
Art. 16. Any employer or owner of an establishment who refuses to allow the
inspections to be held which the department is required to carry out through its
inspectors shall be liable to a fine of not less than 100 nor more than 500 pesos,
without prejudice to the right to enforce entry [allanamiento] on a writ ob
tained by the director from the judge having jurisdiction and in conformity
with the provisions of article 10 of the law of July 29,1913.
A rt. 17. The fines referred to in the preceding section, and also the fine re
ferred to in article 4 of the law, shall be imposed by the department of labor and
enforced by judicial action in conformity with article 10 of the law of July
29, 1913.
A rt. 18. Without prejudice to the intervention of the department on its own
initiative or at the request of the parties concerned, any responsible person
who becomes aware of a violation of any of the provisions of the law or of the
regulations thereunder may bring such violation to the notice of the depart
ment of labor in order that the latter may proceed to investigate the matter.
A rt. 19. Public officials shall cooperate with the department of labor when
they are directly requested so to do, for the purpose of the enforcement of
this decree.
Employments covered.—There is a striking similarity as regards industries
covered in the provisions of the seven Provincial eight-hour laws received by
this bureau. All of these laws cover work in industrial and commercial
establishments, in mining and quarry operations, and in factories and work
shops. The laws of five Provinces (Cordoba, Mendoza, Salta, San Juan, and San
Luis) cover workers employed by the Provincial or local authorities on public
works, and those of four Provinces (Cordoba, Santa Fe, Salta, and Tucuman)
include transportation enterprises, while Cordoba, San Luis, San Juan, Santa
Fe, and Tucuman include construction work. Agricultural work is covered by
the laws of Mendoza, Tucuman, and San Juan, the last mentioned specifically
including timber felling, land clearing, excavation work, and all work requiring
excessive and continuous physical effort. The following are included less fre
quently: Workers in barber shops (Cordoba and San Luis) and on bootblack
stands (Cordoba), in printing and bookbinding establishments (Santa Fe and
Tucuman), pharmacies (Santa Fe and Tucuman), and in slaughterhouses
(Santa Fe and Tucuman).
Exemptions.—All the Provincial laws allow certain specified exemptions. The
law of Salta excepts agricultural workers, domestic servants, drivers, and
chauffeurs; that of San Juan, persons employed in the raising, herding, care,
and transportation of cattle; drivers of vehicles; letter carriers; and in general
those working in the open air, and from whom no great physical effort is re
quired ; domestic workers; and those engaged in overtime work of urgent nec
essity; that of Cordoba, workers in bakeries, pastry shops, confectioneries,
and flour mills. Agricultural workers and those engaged in stock raising,
domestic servants, public entertainers, and those caring for the sick are ex
empted by the law of Santa Fe. According to the laws of Mendoza and San
Luis, the proper officials may authorize overtime or an extension of working
hours in cases of necessity, provided overtime is paid for at the rate of time
and a half;
40
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Penalties.—The laws of the seven Provinces specify penalties for violations,
varying, for the first offense, from a fine of 10 pesos per day per person (in
Tucuman) to one of 100 pesos (in Cordoba) or imprisonment from 1 to 30
days (in Mendoza), and for a second offense a fine of not less than 100 nor
more than 500 pesos is imposed in San Juan.
SUNDAY REST
LAW NO. 4661 OF SEPTEMBER 6, 1905 (FOR FEDERAL CAPITAL AND
NATIONAL TERRITORIES)
Article 1 (as amended by Law No. 9104, art. 1, and Law No. 9105, art. 1). The
performance of manual work for another and of work done publicly for one’s
self, in factories, workshops, commercial enterprises, and other establishments
or workplaces shall be prohibited on Sunday and on May 25 and July 9, in the
capital of the Republic and in the National Territories, subject only to the
exceptions specified in this law and in the regulations to be issued thereunder.
Art. 2. The above prohibition shall not apply to the following work, in
accordance with the rules and regulations to be issued by the executive au
thority :
(1) Work which can not be interrupted either because of the nature of the
needs which it is intended to satisfy or for reasons of a technical character, or
because the interruption would cause serious injury to the public interest or
to the industry itself; such work may be done without a special permit, in
conformity with the rules laid down in the regulations.
(2) Repairing or cleaning work in industrial establishments which must be
done in order not to interrupt the work during the week.
(3) Work which may be imperative by reason of impending disaster or
accident or other temporary circumstances which must be dealt with.
In all events, the regulations shall determine the weekly rest for those
covered by the exceptions.
A rt. 3. No exceptions shall be made concerning the weekly rest as regards
women and minors under 16 years of age.
A rt . 4. The provisions of this law shall not apply to domestic service.
Art. 5. Establishments selling alcoholic beverages shall remain closed on
Sunday.
A et . 6. Employers shall be deemed to be responsible for violations of this
law unless there is proof to the contrary, and shall be liable to a fine of 100
pesos for the first offense and double that amount or 15 days’ imprisonment
for subsequent offenses.
A rt . 7. This law shall become effective 90 days after its promulgation.
REGULATORY DECREE OF MARCH 1, 1926 (FOR FEDERAL CAPITAL)
A rticle 1. The performance of manual work for another and of work done
publicly for one’s self, in factories, workshops, commercial enterprises, and
other establishments or workplaces shall be prohibited on Sunday in the
capital of the Republic, in accordance with the provisions of Law No. 4661,
without other exceptions than those specified in the said law and in these
regulations.
Art. 2. The prohibition of manual work on Sunday shall apply to the
period between midnight on Saturday and midnight on Sunday, and the pro
hibition of manual work done for another shall not entail a decrease in the
wage agreed upon proportionate to the amount due for this rest period.
Art. 3. By “ manual work ” is understood any employment of human activity
wherein the exercise of the physical powers predominates.
Art. 4. For the purposes of the prohibitions and exceptions in the law
and these regulations it is understood: (a) That manual work for another
is that performed on the order of another person, for which the worker,
artisan, agent, or employee who performs the work receives no pecuniary
compensation other than the wages paid to him; (6) That manual work for
one’s self, performed publicly, is that which is done in a public place, or may
be observed from the same, whenever such work is performed for profit or
in the operation of an enterprise, business, or industry.
A rt. 5. No exception to the compulsory weekly rest period will be applicable
to women or minors under 18 years of age.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
41
Abt. 6. The provisions of the law and of these regulations shall not apply
to domestic service. By “ domestic service ” is meant the employment of per
sons, for a wage, in the service of other persons or families for the purpose
of working for or attending them, provided the said persons are not employed
for purposes of direct gain [in] commerce or industry.
Art. 7. The owners of industries or businesses covered by the authorized
exceptions shall keep a special list giving the names of persons employed on
Sunday and the compensatory rest periods for each one during the week.
This list shall be posted in a conspicuous place, and the manufacturer and
merchants shall show it to the inspectors of the National Department of Labor
whenever so required.
Art. 8. In case of manual work carried on day and night without interrup
tion, the change of shifts shall be made at the customary hours, and the rest
period shall also begin and end at the same hours.
A rt. 9. Manual work, either continuous or occasional, which is allowed
on Sunday by exception shall be performed by the number of workers, artisans,
agents, or employees strictly necessary therefor, and the work shall not con
tinue beyond the time absolutely necessary for the performance of the work
for which the exception is authorized.
Art. 10. Commercial establishments which, under the provisions of this
law or of this decree, are not allowed to work or do business on Sunday shall
remain closed. However, if they have no other ventilation than by the door,
and if the manufacturer or merchant, his family, or clerks, live in such estab
lishments or houses, the same may remain half open, with a placard an
nouncing to the public that the establishment is not open for business.
Art. 11. In order to decide whether a business should remain open or closed
on Sunday the kind of goods dealt with ancj the principal work carried on shall
be taken into consideration and this shall be proved by the trade license.
The fact that reference is made in the said license to the sale of goods
belonging to an excepted class as supplementary to the regular business of the
establishment shall not be made a pretext for claiming to come under the
said exception. The definitions given in these regulations shall also be con
sidered.
Art. 12. A merchant who refuses to comply with the instructions of the
authorities, or who sells goods whose sale is prohibited on Sunday, shall for
feit the benefits of the exception.
Art. 13. For the purposes of these regulations:
(a)
Grocery store shall mean a business engaged principally in the sale
of food articles or necessary articles for domestic use, but will not include
for the purposes of this law, the businesses hereafter specified which sell
perishable goods or articles of a special nature: 1. Butcher shops; 2. food
stands and cookshops; 3. cheese and butter stores, dairies, chocolate shops,
and creameries; 4. confectionery and candy stores, pastry shops, cake shops
and bakeries; 5. vermicelli or fresh paste factories; 6. restaurants, hotels,
eating places, boarding houses, and lunch rooms; 7. fish, game, fruits, and
green goods markets; 8. cafes, bars, breweries, places of amusement, and other
businesses of a similar nature, even if carried on under some other name.
(&)
Butcher shops, cookshops, butter and cheese stores, dairies, chocolate
shops, confectionery and candy stores, pastry shops, cake shops, bakeries,
vermicelli and fresh paste factories, cafes, and bars shall sell no goods other
than those covered by the name of the business, and if they sell or keep any
goods not covered by the name of the establishment they shall be deemed to
be grocery stores.
(c) Restaurants, eating places, lunch rooms, hotels, boarding houses, caf6s,
and bars shall not sell articles of consumption except to be consumed on the
premises or with meals, and shall not keep or sell any goods to be consumed
off the premises, except prepared meals.
( d) Businesses carried on in markets and fairs shall be subject to the regu
lations in the preceding paragraphs, and shall not sell goods sold in grocery
stores.
(e) If a cookshop or bar keeps goods which are generally sold in grocery
stores, this shall be sufficient cause, for the purposes of the law, to classify
the said business or bar as a grocery store, unless the sale of the goods in
question is kept entirely separate from the ordinary business of the estab
lishment. The said separation shall be absolute and permanent. Neverthe
less such shops or bars shall not be deemed to lose their status as cookshops
or bars and be classified as grocery stores if they merely keep the limited
42
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
commodities required for their own trade, for immediate consumption on the
premises.
(f) Butcher shops shall include businesses in markets or elsewhere engaged
exclusively in the sale of fresh meat, and fruit stores shall mean businesses
engaged exclusively in the sale of fresh fruit.
(g) By confectioners’ shops, tea rooms, and lunch rooms shall be under
stood those establishments engaged principally in the sale of sweets, bonbons,
cakes, tarts, tea, coffee, and chocolate. The fact that they also sell srr*ods
usually sold in grocery stores and food stands shall not cause their classifica
tion to be changed, provided the sale of said goods is exceptional and is lor
immediate consumption on the premises.
(h) Dairies are those businesses which sell milk and fresh products de
rived therefrom.
(£) Food stands in markets which sell goods usually sold in grocery stores
in addition to cold food shall cease to be considered food stands and be classi
fied as grocery stores.
(/) Establishments engaged in the retail sale of cigars, tobacco, and similar
articles shall be considered cigar stores.
Aet. 14. The sale of alcoholic beverages on Sunday shall be prohibited.
Beer and cider whose alcoholic content is not more than 6 per cent shall not
be considered alcoholic beverages.
Art. 15. All establishments whose main business is the sale of alcoholic
beverages shall remain closed on Sunday.
Art. 16. Hotels, restaurants, and eating houses in general may sell wine
on Sunday only at the usual meal time and for consumption on the premises.
Art. 17. In addition to exceptions of a general and permanent character,
special and occasional exceptions shall be authorized by which a particular
individual may work on Sunday. Applications for such permits shall be made
on ordinary paper to the National Department of Labor a sufficient time in
advance; they shall state the reasons therefor, the nature of the manual work
to be done, the duration thereof, and the number of workers to be employed.
Art. 18. Work which can not be interrupted, either because of the nature
of the needs which it is intended to satisfy, or because the interruption would
cause serious consequences to public interest, shall constitute exceptions of
a general character, such as the fo llo w in g :
(1) Railroad enterprises: Manual work in connection with the movement
of passenger and freight trains, loading and unloading of baggage, parcel post,
perishable goods, and cattle, and the loading of general freight in times of
accumulation.
(2) In harbors: Work in the embarkation and landing of passengers, bag
gage, mail, and perishable freight, such as fruit, fish, etc., and the loading
and unloading of cattle; in the dispatching of trains; in the towing of vessels,
both entering and leaving the harbor; and on small steamers, launches, and
passenger boats for trips and regattas; fire, safety, cleaning, watching, and
necessary repair services; general loading and unloading only in case of
accumulation of work or manifest emergency.
(3) Cartage: Only for the transportation of baggage and for the services
and work authorized by these regulations.
(4) Railways, busses, bicycles, automobiles, carriages for hire and for
funeral services.
(5) The personnel of hospitals and sanitariums.
(6) Drug stores: By turns as determined by the National Department of
Health, but selling any other kind of articles than those in their own line is
prohibited.
(7) Preparation and sale of special food for the sick.
(8) Bathhouses, but the conducting of business or the provision of services
other than those incidental to this business are prohibited; sanitary work
in connection with sewers and public comfort stations.
(9) Hiring of chairs and decorations and articles for banquets.
(10) Museums.
(11) Telegraph, telephone, and radio-telephone services.
(12) Hotels.
(13 Restaurants in hotels and elsewhere, boarding houses, and eating places,
subject to the prohibition in article 14 of these regulations. This excep
tion shall include boarding houses and eating places connected with grocery
stores, provided they are situated on premises absolutely and permanently
separate.
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
43
(14) Auctioneers In case of real-estate sales only.
(15) The following may remain open until noon on Sunday: (a) Butcher
shops; (6) fresh fruit and vegetable shops; (o) bakeries.
(16) Dairies and creameries.
(17) Butter shops, for the sale of butter only.
(18) The manufacture of ice shall be permitted on Sunday during the months
of November, December, January, February, and March, but ice may be
delivered on Sunday throughout the year.
(19) Street vendors shall be subject to the provisions in these regulations
relating to similar businesses. Itinerant photographers are included in this
exception.
(20) The moving of furniture of an employee or worker shall be permitted
on Sunday after obtaining a permit from the National Department of Labor.
(21) Photographer’s establishment, for the taking of negatives on Sunday
only.
(22) Garages and automobile concerns, to perform urgent repair work, the
sale of tires being prohibited.
(28)
Confectioners’ shops, candy stores, chocolate shops, caf£s, and billiard
parlors for the sale of goods inside the building or its annexes,
(24) Theaters, circuses, and moving-picture houses.
(25) Daily newspaper enterprises.
(26) Sale of plants and cut flowers.
(27) Stores renting bicycles.
Art. 19. The following shall be considered as work which can not be inter
rupted for reasons of a technical nature and because its interruption would
cause serious injury to the industry:
(1) When the raw material is liable to spontaneous change if it is not
subjected to industrial treatment at the time of its extraction or preparation,
or where the raw material can be used only within a limited period of time.
(2) Work whose performance, including the necessary preparatory and
finishing work, requires more than 24 hours owing to the nature ©f the
operations to which the raw materials, their derivatives or mixtures or
solutions with other materials, are subjected.
(3) Work in which it is absolutely necessary to subject the raw materials,
their derivatives, compounds, or mixtures with other materials, to the constant
action of some agent such as heat or cold, or to the continued action of the
said agent for more than 24 hours.
(4) Work in connection with the maintenance of a constant or fixed temper
ature in rooms or apparatus, either owing to the nature of the processes o f
manufacture or preparation, if these are continuous, or to enable work to
be resumed after the rest period.
(5) Work necessary to complete or terminate operations which must be
concluded on Sunday and which it has been or will be impossible to finish
before midnight on Saturday for the reasons given under paragraphs (1), (2),
(3), and (4), provided the articles in question are articles the fabrication or
manufacture of which can be completed or the sale of which is permitted by
way of exception in the law or these regulations.
(6) In the manufacture of cellulose: Operation of the calcining and dehydrat
ing apparatus, of the furnaces, and of the lye-evaporating apparatus.
(7) In the manufacture of paper: Until 6 a. m. on Sunday, processes which
were not terminated on Saturday; the heating required to maintain the paper
pulp at the necessary temperature.
(8) In cardboard and wrapping-paper factories: Drying by air or heat.
(9) In tanneries: The reception of the hides and the maceration processes.
(10) In patent leather and chamois factories: The drying of the patent
leather and the bleaching of the chamois leather in the sun.
(11) In glass or crystal factories: Feeding and tending tank or pot furnaces,
and the preparation and mixing of the raw materials; the blowing of glass
until 6 a. m.
(12) In potteries: Feeding and tending the calcining furnaces.
(13) In brick works: Feeding and tending the kilns, and until 9 a. m. on
Sunday the preparation of the kilns.
(14) In lime and plaster works: (a) In the case of kilns with special heat
ing, feeding and tending the kilns until 9 a. m. on Sunday; (&) in the case of
kilns with grates, feeding and tending the kilns; also, until 9 a. m. on Sunday,
withdrawing the finished product; (o) in circular and chamber kilns, feeding
44
LABOR LEGISLATION OP ARGENTINA
and tending the kilns, and in addition, until 9 a. m., withdrawing the finished
product and putting in the unfinished articles.
(15) In cement works: In circular kilns, the charging of the calcining kilns
until 9 a. m., the withdrawal of the finished product, and the putting in of
the unfinished articles.
(16) In factories for the manufacture of carbon filaments for electric arc
lamps, electrodes, and dynamo brushes; feeding, watching, and tending the
continuous and gas furnaces.
(17) In factories for the manufacture of artificial coal, and tar and tar oil
distilleries: Charging and tending the furnaces, the distillation of tar and heavy
and light oils which is in progress has been begun on the previous working
day or is not finished.
(18) In wood and peat distilleries: Carbonization in the retorts, the separation
and purification of the products of distillation, and the crystallization of the
salts.
(19) In artificial fertilizer factories: The preparation of the lye, concentra
tion to extract the phosphoric acid, and the roasting of substances for the
preparation of artificial fertilizers.
(20) In powder and explosives factories: The drying of the substances.
(21) In the extraction of fats from bones: The finishing of the extraction
of the fats in operations begun before 6 p. m. on the previous day, and the
emptying of the fat extractors.
(22) In glycerin factories: Operating the distillation apparatus and the
furnaces for the calcination of the bones.
(23) In petroleum refineries: The completion of distillation processes begun
on Saturday or previously, and the emptying of the distillation apparatus.
(24) In vegetable-oil factories: Until 6 a. m., processes not completed on
Saturday.
(25) In stearin factories: Operating the distillation apparatus.
(26) In breweries and malt works: The germination of the barley (or grain),
the preparation of the mash, and the fermentation; the finishing of any proc
esses begun on Saturday; the operation of the refrigeration machinery.
(27) In vinegar works: The work of refilling and of fermentation.
(28) In tallow factories: The reception and melting of the fat.
(29) In spaghetti factories: The operation of drying the spaghetti made be
fore Sunday.
(30) In glue factories: The drying of the glue made before Sunday.
(31) In smelting works: Charging and tending the furnaces and work in
the shops connected therewith in the casting of iron and steel for the rolling
mills.
(32) In tile and enamel goods factories: Charging and tending the melting
furnaces for tiling and enameling.
(33) In metal galvanizing: Galvanizing by the electrolytic process; supervi
sion of the process.
(34) In the manufacture of galvanized iron: Charging the furnaces to keep
the zinc liquid.
(35) In sugar mills, alcohol distilleries, and refineries; the work of manufac
turing and refining.
(36) In chemical works: In the manufacture of sulphuric, hydrosulphuric,
hydrochloric, and nitric acid, sulphides, sulphites, chlorine, chlorides, chlorates,
carbonates, nitrates, fiuorates, chromates, manganates, and alkalis, the follow
ing work: (a) At the roasting and oxidizing furnaces; (b) at the apparatus
for condensation, concentration, crystallization, refrigeration, precipitation, dry
ing, and compression; (c) at the apparatus for the production of oxygen and
hydrogen; (d) at the apparatus for the dissolution, purification, and evapora
tion of the solutions; (e) in putting the manufactured products into containers
and transporting them to the warehouses.
(37) In the manufacture of soda, potash, caustic soda, and caustic potash,
the operation of: {a) Melting and calcining furnaces and vessels; (6) appa
ratus for condensation, concentration, crystallization, and precipitation; (c)
putting the manufactured products into containers and transporting them to
the warehouses.
(38) In the manufacture of ammonia (anhydrous or in solution) and salts
of ammonia: (a) The operation of apparatus for concentration, purification,
distillation, crystallization, drying, and compression; (6) necessary prepara
tory work for the distilling process.
TEXT OP LABOE LEGISLATION
45
(39) In alum and aluminum factories: The operation of apparatus for
graduation, concentration, crystallization, melting, and drying.
(40) In factories for the manufacture of dyes from organic substances and
their derivatives: Crystallization and the operation of the drying apparatus.
(41) In carbonic-acid works: At the apparatus for the production of car
bonic acid and the compression pumps.
(42) In compressed oxygen and hydrogen works: At the apparatus for the
production of oxygen and hydrogen and the compression pumps.
(43) In factories making white lead, red lead, and other lead compounds:
The operation of the oxydization, drying, and precipitation chambers, and
of the melting and calcining furnaces for the preparation of compounds of
lead.
(44) In zinc white factories: The operation of the calcining furnaces and
apparatus and machinery connected therewith.
(45) In starch factories: The feeding, operation, supervision, and regula
tion of the machinery and apparatus for macerating, grinding, elimination of
gluten, filtering, cutting moist starch in squares, gathering, and placing in
the ovens and drying.
(46) In cigar factories: Feeding, operating, supervising, and regulating
drying apparatus in the rooms for the drying of the moist cigars.
(47) In soap works: Tending the fires under the melting pans.
(48) In reinforced-concrete building: Continuation of the work begun before
Sunday which is necessary.
Art. 20. The following shall be deemed to be manual work of an urgent
nature necessary to avoid damage or accidents:
(1) In building: The construction, demolition, or completion of work neces
sary to insure the stability of a building, or to rebuild or shore up buildings
which threaten to fall, or to prevent floods or to minimize their consequences.
(2) In industrial workshops and establishments: The preparation of the
materials necessary to carry out repairs in the workshops or establishments
themselves or elsewhere.
(3) In public streets, private houses, and commercial or industrial estab
lishments : Repairs to gas or water pipes, drains, or electrical conductors.
(4) In connection with steamers, vessels, locomotives, railways, and other
means of locomotion: All necessary and urgent repairs to boilers, motors,
tracks, transmission and distribution cables and pipes, and signals.
(5) In private shipyards and docks: Urgent repairs to vessels.
Art. 21. The following shall be deemed to be work which can not be inter
rupted either for reasons of a technical character or because interruption
would cause serious injury to the public interest:
In lighting undertakings, manual work in connection with production and dis
tribution, the repairing of conduits, appliances, etc., carried out by undertakings
which produce and supply light, power, or heat by means of electricity, gas,
acetylene, alcohol, or any other system.
Art. 22. The following shall be deemed to be work which must be carried
out on account of transitory conditions of which it is necessary, to take advan
tage: (1) The making of preserves in the fruit season; (2) irrigation work
in agriculture and forestry work in the season when such work is necessary
for sowing, planting, and cultivation.
Art. 23. The repairing and cleaning work referred to in the second para
graph of article 2 of the law shall be considered to mean such work as it may
be found necessary to perform on Sunday in connection with the machinery,
its accessories and tools; in manufacturing and lighting apparatus, in the
existing constructions and installations in factories and workshops; on premises
on which work is being done, their annexes and approaches: (a) In order to
finish work begun on the previous day; (6) in order to avoid interfering with
the ordinary work during the week; (o) in order to avoid causing damage to
the industry.
Art. 24. In addition to the businesses or establishments not specially enu
merated among the exceptions, the following shall remain closed on Sunday:
(a) Butcher shops; (6) shops for the sale of cigars, cigarettes, and tobacco;
the sale of these articles shall be prohibited even in shops not solely engaged
in the sale thereof; (o) cheese stores; (d) messenger offices; (e) barber shops;
(f) kiosks in the public streets, except those exclusively for the sale of fresh
flowers.
100691°—80----- *
46
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Art. 25. This decree shall become effective 90 days after its publication in
the Boletin Oficial, all previous decrees for the administration of Law No.
4661 being repealed. This decree shall apply to the Federal Capital.
Art. 26. The National Department of Labor, through its inspectors and other
employees, shall supervise the enforcement of the law and of this decree, with
out prejudice to cooperation by the police authorities.
PROVINCIAL LAWS
The 10 Provinces listed below have enacted laws providing for Sunday rest:
Buenos Aires, January 7, 1908; Catamarca, September 24, 1909; Cordoba,
October 7, 1907; Entre Rios, October 31, 1906; Jujuy, July 28, 1925; Mendoza,
October 22, 1906; San Luis, July 12, 1915; Santa Fe, July 3, 1906; Santiago
del Estero, August 28, 1907; Tucuman, July 25, 1907.
Since these laws are all patterned after National Law No. 4661 and its
regulatory decree (see above) and are essentially identical, only the few
variances will be given here.
In article 18 of the regulatory decree there are a number of exceptions
given as work which can not be interrupted, either because of the nature of
the needs which it is intended to satisfy, or because the interruption would
cause serious consequences to public interest. The Provincial law of Cor
doba omits exception No. 7, namely, the preparation and sale of special food for
the sick. The hiring of chairs and decorations is classified as an exception
in all the Provincial laws except Cordoba and San Luis. Work in connection
with museums is not excepted from the laws of Cordoba and San Luis, while
auctioneers are not excepted in the Cordoba law. The sale of plants and cut
flowers is not allowed on Sunday, nor may bicycle repair shops remain open
on Sunday, in Cordoba. While the Provinces of Buenos Aires, Entre Rios, Men
doza, San Luis, Santa Fe, and Tucuman allow work to be done in dairies
and creameries as well as grinding work in mills on Sunday, Cordoba does
not. Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and San Luis do not allow commercial and
industrial establishments to make their inventories on Sunday.
PROHIBITION OF NIGHT WORK IN BAKERIES
LAW NO. 11338 OF SEPTEMBER 9, 1926
Article 1. Night work from 9 p. m. to 5 a. m. on the following day is
prohibited throughout the territory of the Republic in bakeries and pastry
and confectioners’ shops and similar establishments. The prohibition shall
apply to all work directly or indirectly connected with said industries.
Art. 2. If the public interests so requires, the National Executive Authority
may authorize night work in machine bakeries, subject to the following con
ditions: (a) When an agreement to this effect is made between the employers’
and the workers’ organizations concerned; (&) when the work is performed in
shifts of not more than 8 hours each, which alternate periodically in the
working days and the weekly rest days; (o) when the sanitary conditions are
satisfactory.
Art. 3. A copy of this law shall be posted in a conspicuous place on the
premises to which it applies. The address of the authority charged with
the administration of the law shall follow the text thereof.
Abt. 4. Owners of the above-mentioned establishments who violate this
law shall be punished by a fine of 100 pesos (national currency) for every
person unlawfully employed.
Art. 5. The administrative authorities for this law shall be the National
Department of Labor in the Federal Capital and the authorities specified in
the regulations of the Provinces and the National Territories.
The police shall cooperate with the said authorities in investigating
violations.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
47
Art. 6. Representatives of the administrative authorities shall have the right,
during working hours, to enter all establishments covered by this law. Outside
working hours a writ of entry shall be required.
Art. 7. Without prejudice to the rights of the administrative authority, per
sons who have suffered loss and also the respective organizations of workers
and of employers, acting through their governing boards shall be entitled to
report violations of this law and to prosecute the persons guilty thereof in the
criminal courts.
REGULATORY DECREE OF NOVEMBER 29, 192$ (FOR FEDERAL
CAPITAL AND NATIONAL TERRITORIES)
Article 1. If the public interest so requires, the National Department of
Labor in the Federal Capital may authorize night work in machine bakeries
which satisfy the conditions laid down under (a), (6), and (c) of article 2 of
Law No. 11338, provided that in the National Teriltories the governor shall be
the administrative authority.
A r t . 2. Machine bakeries shall be deemed to mean only those factories in
Which the processes of manufacture are entirely mechanical in every stage.
Art. 3. Permits shall not be granted in cases other than those expressly
specified, and they shall not continue longer than the duration of the public
necessity for which they were issued.
Art. 4. Permits issued as provided for in the preceding articles shall cover
only the following cases: (a) When by reason of force majeure a decrease in
production occurs which hinders the normal working of the enterprise; (6)
emergency cases, to meet necessities of a national character; (e) to satisfy
the urgent needs of public institutions, asylums, hospitals, schools; (d) cases
of accidents or of defects in machinery which have interfered with work during
the day.
Art. 5. Petitions for permits in the cases referred to in article 2 of the law
and article 4 of this decree shall be presented to the administrative authorities,
with the following particulars: (a) Reasons for the petition; (6) agreements
o f the respective employers’ and workers* organizations; (c) organization and
number of the shifts to be employed.
Art. 6. In no case shall the workers be employed for more than 8 hours
during the 24 hours of the day; that is, those who have worked on a previous
shift shall not work during the hours covered by the permit. The shifts so
organized may, one week in three, work from 9 p. m. to 5 a. m. of the follow
ing day.
Art. 7. Owners of enterprises covered by this law shall enter in a special
list, the names of the persons employed, the shifts on which they are employed,
and the compensatory rest periods of each one. This list shall be posted in
a conspicuous place and the employers shall show it to the Department of
Labor inspectors whenever it is asked for.
Art. 8. The sanitary conditions required by law shall be attested by a cer
tificate of the National Department of Public Health, and in the National
Territories by the certificate of a physician in the service of the national
authorities.
Art. 9. The administrative authorities shall have the right to enter, during
working hours, all establishments covered by law No. 11338.
Art. 10. Violations of the provisions of these regulations shall be punished
in conformity with the provisions of the law, by the penalty specified in
article 4 thereof.
Art. 11. This decree shall become effective 90 days after its publication in
the Boletin Oficial.
PROVINCIAL REGULATORY DECREES
The seven Provinces here listed have enacted decrees regulating night work in
bakeries under National Law No. 11338: Buenos Aires, February 25, 1927;
Cordoba, November 21, 1928; Corrientes, April, 1927; La Rioja, August 19,
1927; Santa Fe, February 23, 1927; Santiago del Estero, July 29, 1927; and
Tucuman, September 18, 1928.
Since these decrees are identical, only that of Corrientes is given.
48
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
R egulatory D ecree
of
C orrientes 14
A rticle 1. If necessary in the public interest, the general bureau of sta
tistics and labor may permit night work in machine bakeries which satisfy the
requirements specified in (a), (&) and (c ) of article 2 of law No. 11338, and
for this purpose the bureau shall be the authority responsible for the ad
ministration of the law.
Art. 2. Machine bakeries shall be deemed to mean only those factories in
which the processes of manufacture are entirely mechanical.
A rt. 3. Permits shall be granted only in the cases expressly specified, and
for the period required by the public necessity on account of which they
are issued, as follows: (a) Decrease in production owing to force majeure
which has interfered with the normal working of the industry; (&) cases of
emergency, in order to meet necessities of a national character; (c ) satisfac
tion of the urgent needs of public establishments, such as asylums, hospitals,
and schools; ( d) cases in which the condition of the machinery interferes
with work during the day.
A rt. 4. Applications for permits in the cases referred to in article 2 of the
law and article 3 of this decree shall be made to the general bureau of statistics
and labor, and shall give the following particulars: (a) Reasons for the appli
cation; (b) agreements between the employers’ and workers’ organizations
concerned; (c) organization and number of shifts to be employed.
A rt. 5. Workers shall not in any case be employed for more than 8 hours in
the 24, i. e., those who have worked on a previous shift in the 24 hours shall
not work during the hours covered by the permit. The shifts thus organized
may work, on one week in three, from 12 p. m. to 5 a. m. on the following day.
A rt. 6. Owners of establishments covered by the law shall enter on a special
list the names of the workers employed, the shifts, and the compensatory
rest periods due to each worker. This list shall be posted in a conspicuous
place, and the employers shall submit it to the labor inspectors whenever so
required.
A rt. 7. Compliance with the sanitary conditions prescribed in the law shall
be attested in the capital by a certificate from the general bureau of public
health and in other parts of the Province by a certificate issued by a physician
attached to the police department or municipal authority.
A rt. 8. The authorities responsible for the administration of the law shall
have the right to enter the establishments covered by Law No. 11338 during
working hours for purposes of inspection and supervision.
A rt. 9. Violations of the provisions of this decree, as specified in the law,
shall be punished by a fine of 100 pesos (national currency) for every person
unlawfully employed.
Art. 10. This decree shall become operative 30 days after the date of its
publication in the Boletin Oficial.
EMPLOYMENT OF WOMEN AND MINORS
LAW NO. 11317 OF SEPTEMBER 30, 1924
C hapter 1.— Employment of children
Article 1. The employment of minors under 12 years of age on any kind of
work for another, including rural work, shall be prohibited throughout the
Republic.
The employment of young persons over 12 years of age who are of school
age and who have not completed their compulsory education shall also be
prohibited. However, the competent authority for the protection of minors may
authorize their employment when it is considered necessary for their own
maintenance, or that of their parents or brothers and sisters, provided the
minimum school instruction prescribed by the law has been satisfactorily
completed.
Art. 2. No minor under 14 years of age, under any circumstances, shall be
employed in domestic work or in industrial or commercial enterprises, whether
they are private or public, for profit or for charity, except those in which
only members of the same family are employed.
u Cronica Mensual del Departamento National del Trabajo, July. 1927, p. 2060.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
49
Art. 3. The prohibition in the above articles does not apply to the work of
children for purposes of training, in schools recognized for this purpose by
the competent school authorities.
Art. 4. Boys under 14 years of age and unmarried girls under 18 years of
age shall not engage, on their own account, or for any other person in any
occupation in the streets, squares, or public places.
C hapter 2.—Employment of women and minors under 18 years of affe
Art. 5. Women over 18 years of age shall not be employed in industry or
commerce for more than 8 hours per day or 48 hours per week, nor minors
under 18 years of age for more than 6 hours per day or 36 hours per week.
Art. 6. Women and minors under 18 years of age shall not be employed in
night work, except in nursing and domestic occupations, by night work being
understood that between 8 p. m. and 7 a. m. of the following day during the
winter, and between 8 p. m. and 6 a. m, during the summer. The above provi
sion shall not apply to public entertainments at night in which women over
18 may be employed.
Art. 7. Women and minors under 18 years of age who work during the
morning and afternoon hours shall be granted a rest of two hours at noon.
Art. 8. Women and minors under 18 years of age who are employed in the
main or branch office of an enterprise shall not be required to do any work
at home.
Art. 9. The employment of women and minors under 18 years of age in
dangerous and unhealthful industries or occupations shall be prohibited.
The regulations shall determine the industries to which this prohibition shall
apply in general.
Art. 10. The prohibition in the above article shall apply particularly to the
following industries: (a) The distillation of alcohol and the manufacture or
mixing of liquors; (b) the manufacture of white lead, red lead, or other
poisonous paint ingredients, as well as the mixing of paints, enamels, or
varnishes containing salts of lead or arsenic; (o) the manufacture, manipu
lation, or elaboration of explosives or inflammable or caustic substances, or
work on premises or in places where explosives or inflammable or caustic sub
stances are manufactured, elaborated or handled, or are deposited in quanti
ties which involve danger of accident; (d) the cutting and polishing of glass,
the polishing of metals with emery, and work in any shop or place where dust
or irritating and poisonous gases are habitually produced.
Art. 11. Women, and minors under 18 years of age, shall not be employed
(a) in the loading and unloading of ships; (&) in quarries or in underground
work; (c) in loading or unloading by means of cranes or hoists; (d) as en
gineers or firemen; (e) in the oiling and cleaning of machinery in motion;
( f ) in the shifting of belts; (g) on circular saws and other dangerous ma
chines; (h) in the smelting of metals, the melting of glass, and the blowing of
glass with the mouth; (i) in the transportation of hot substances; (j) in the
retail sale of distilled or fermented alcoholic liquor, wherever it may be sold.
Art. 12. When a woman or a minor suffers an industrial accident or dis
ease, if it is proved that the said accident or disease was due to an occupation
prohibited for women and minors by this law or carried on under conditions
involving a violation of the requirements of this law, or due to the presence of
such woman or minor in a work place in which her presence was unlawful,
the accident or disease shall be deemed to be due to the fault of the em
ployer by reason of these circumstances alone.
Chapter 3.—Protection of maternity
Art. 13. During the period of six weeks following childbirth, the employ
ment of women in industrial or commercial enterprises and their branches,
whether urban or rural, public or private, with the exception of those in
which only members of the family of the employer work, is prohibited. A woman
shall be entitled to leave her work on presentation of a medical certificate stating
that her confinement will probably take place within six weeks.
No woman shall be dismissed from her work on account of pregnancy, and
her job shall be held for her while she is absent from her work under the
preceding provisions.
Art. 14. If a woman remains away from her work for a longer period on
account of an illness which is, according to a medical certificate, due to preg
50
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
nancy or childbirth, and which renders her unfit to resume her work, she shall
hot be dismissed for this reason.
Art. 15. During the period of lactation women shaU be entitled to a rest
period of 15 minutes every three hours to nurse their children, except when
a shorter period is prescribed by a medical certificate.
In establishments in which the minimum number of women is employed, as
determined by the regulations, suitable nurseries shall be provided for children
under two years in which such children shall be cared for while the mothers
are at work.
C h a p te r 4.—Provisions as to enforcement
Art. 16. In industrial and commercial enterprises which employ minors
under 18 years of age, their birth certificates from the Bureau of Vital Sta
tistics or other equivalent documents, shall be filed and classified and in addi
tion a general register of said minors, with the data prescribed by the regula
tions, shall be kept.
Art. 17. The offices of the Bureau of Vital Statistics shall provide gratui
tously to each of the minors covered by this law a book in w’hich shall be
written his name, age, occupation, and working hours, as well as the names,
occupations, and domicile of his parents, guardians, or custodians.
In the same book shall be noted by the proper authority whether or not the
minor has complied with the educational requirements.
Art. 18. Persons who employ minors under 18 years of age shall be required to
enter in the book referred to in the preceding article the conditions of the
employment and the wage or salary.
A sheet containing these data shall be sent to the administrative authorities.
Any other notation, and especially any that might be prejudicial to the
bearer, by symbols or words, shall be prohibited under penalty of payment
of damages.
Art. 19. The administrative authorities for this law, in the Federal Capital
shall be the National Department of Labor, and in the Provinces and the
National Territories the authorities specified in the respective regulations.
The police shall cooperate with said authorities in investigating violations.
Art. 20. Representatives of the administrative authorities shall have a
right to enter all establishments covered by this law during working hours.
Outside of working hours a writ of entry shall be required.
Chapter 5.—Penal 'provisions
Art. 21. Violations of this law shall be punished by a fine of from 50 to
1,000 pesos (national currency), which shall be doubled in case of repetition, or
in lieu thereof an equivalent period of imprisonment according to the Penal
Code.
Every case where a person has been unlawfully employed or a woman de
prived of work in violation of the provisions in articles 13 and 14 of this law
shall be considered as a separate violation thereof. In the latter case the
proceeds of the fine shall be immediately turned over to the woman in question.
Art. 22. All those who require women, or children under 18 years of age,
to perform dangerous feats of strength or contortions shall be liable to a fine
of from 1,000 to 5,000 pesos (national currency), or in default thereof to an
equivalent period of imprisonment in accordance with the Penal Code. The
same penalty shall be imposed on those who employ children under 16 years of
age in public performances at night, as well as the parents or guardians who
may profit by their work.
In case of a repetition of these violations, the maximum fine shall be imposed,
or imprisonment for from six months to two years.
A rt. 23. Without prejudice to the powers of the administrative authority
and the authority for the protection of minors, the persons who have suffered
loss and also societies for the protection of women and minors, and workers’
organizations, acting through their governing bodies, shall be entitled to report
violations of this law and to bring criminal actions against persons guilty
thereof.
Art. 24. The provisions of this law shall be incorporated in the Civil and
Penal Codes of the Nation.
A r t . 25. Law No. 5291 is hereby repealed.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
51
REGULATORY DECREE OF MAY 28, 1925 (FOR THE FEDERAL
CAPITAL)
Article 1. In addition to the industries and occupations specified in articles
10 and 11 of Law No. 11317, the following shall also be considered unhealthful
and dangerous occupations and industries, within the meaning of article 9 of
the law, in which women, and minors under 18 years of age, shall not be em
ployed: 1. Refining and distillation of petroleum or hydrocarbons used for
illuminating or heating purposes; 2. Manufacture of oil varnishes; 3. Manu
facture of carbon sulphide; 4. Manufacture of sulphuric and acetic ether; 5.
Manufacture of collodion and its derivatives; 6. Manufacture of waterproof
cloth; 7. Manufacture of sulphuric acid; 8. Polishing of precious metals (gold
and silver) ; 9. Manufacture of aniline dyes; 10. Manufacture of picric acid;
11. Manufacture of oxalic acid; 12. Manufacture of salicylic acid; 13. Manu
facture of murexide or purpurate of ammonium; 14. Manufacture of chlorine;
15. Manufacture of chlorine of lime or hypochloride of lime; 16. Manufac
ture of nitric or azotic acid; 17. Manufacture of chromates; 18. Manufacture,
smelting, and rolling of lead, and manufacture of litharge, red lead, massicot,
white lead, and oxide of lead; 19. Manufacture of zinc white; 20. Manufac
ture of copper and crushing of copper ore and treatment of same with acids;
21. Gilding and plating; 22. Manufacture of arsenic compounds; 23. Manu
facture of sodium salts (sulphuric-acid process) ; 24. Manufacture of cyanide
of potassium and its salts; 25. Manufacture of potassium and its salts; 26.
Manufacture of celluloid; 27. Distillation of tar products (paraffin, creosote,
carbolic acid, benzine, and naphtha for commercial purposes) ; 28. Manufac
ture of fireworks; 29. Manufacture of explosives; 30. Type founding; 31.
Gathering of bones and rags; 32. Carding work in textile factories.
Art. 2. The foregoing list may be extended on petition of the National
Department of Public Health when new industrial processes appear which
ought to be classified as unhealthful.
Total or partial exemption from the above prohibitions may be granted when
it is shown, on application of the manufacturers, approved by the National
Department of Public Health, that the introduction of new methods of manu
facture or the adoption of preventive measures have eliminated the dangerous
or unhealthful character of the \5$rk.
Art. 3. As specified in article 15 of the law, every establishment in which
50 or more women over 18 years of age are employed shall provide a suitable
nursery for children under 2 years of age, where they shall be cared for
during the time the mothers are at work.
Art. 4. The register of minors referred to in article 16 of the law shall contain
the following data: Serial number, full name of the minor, age, nationality, sex,
occupation, date of entrance, date of withdrawal, wages, address, names of
parents or guardians, and reference to the certificates required by the same
article. The register of minors shall be signed by the head of the National
Department of Labor and periodically countersigned by the inspectors, who
shall note on the same, pertinent orders and observations.
Art. 5. On petition of the interested parties, the head of the National Depart
ment of Labor shall order the inspectors to submit reports on matters relating
to provisions contained in articles 1, 12, 13, and 14 of the law. Copies of these
reports shall be given the interested parties so that they may reply. The
petition may be made orally.
Art. 6. The National Department of Public Health shall issue the medical
certificates referred to in certain articles of this law.
Art. 7. This decree shall apply to the capital of the Republic, and shall be
effective 30 days after its publication.
REGULATORY DECREE OF JUNE 9, 1925 (FOR NATIONAL
TERRITORIES)
Article 1. [Identical with article 1 of the regulatory decree of May 28, 1925
(see above).]
Art. 2. Additions may be made to the above schedule at the request of the
administrative authorities of each of the Territories, when new industrial
processes appear wh?ch ought to be classified as unhealthful. Total or partial
exemption from the above prohibitions may be granted when it is shown on
the application of the manufacturers, with the approval of the National Depart*
52
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
ment of Public Health, that the introduction of new methods of manufacture
or the adoption of preventive measures has eliminated the dangerous or
unhealthful character of the work.
Art. 3. [Identical with article 3 of the regulatory decree of May 28, 1925
(see p. 51).]
Art. 4. The register of minors referred to in article 16 of the law shall contain
the following data: Serial number, full name of the minor, age, nationality, sex,
occupation, date of entrance, date of withdrawal, wages, address, names of
parents or guardians, and reference to the certificates required by the same
article. The register of minors shall be signed by the governor of the Territory
if the distance permits, and if not, by the authorities to whom this task is
delegated by the governor; the keeping of the register shall not be required
outside the capitals of the Territories, except in establishments which usually
employ more than two minors under 18 years of age.
Art. 5. The governor of each Territory shall be the administrative authority
under the provisions of article 19 of the law. Physicians of the public welfare
service and others in the Territories connected with the national authorities
shall be required to issue the medical certificates referred to in certain articles
of the law.
Art. 6. The Ministry of Justice and Education shall make the necessary
arrangements to provide young persons with the books referred to in article
17 of the law. These books, as well as the documents and proceedings required
of manufacturers or of minors and women under the law, shall be entirely
free of charge.
Art. 7. In cases in which it is necessary to apply the penalties provided for
in the law, the procedure followed shall be that specified in the Code of
Procedure.
Art. 8. This decree shall apply to the National Territories, and shall become
effective 30 days after its promulgation in each capital. During the first 60
days of the operation of the decree an employer shall not be deemed to be
guilty of a violation unless he has been duly notified of his offense and con
tinues it beyond the time limit which has been allowed him for compliance with
the provisions of the law.
Art. 9. The governors shall include in their annual reports a statement in
regard to the observance of the law and this decree within their respective
jurisdictions, and any observations they may deem necessary.
PROVINCIAL REGULATORY DECREES
The bureau has received six Provincial regulatory decrees dealing with the em
ployment of women and minors, which are as follows: Buenos Aires, July 24,
1925; Cordoba, August 4, 1926; Corrientes, May 16, 1927; San Luis, May 5,
1926; Santa Fe, December 23, 1926; and Santiago del Estero, October 9, 1928.
T?he regulatory decree of Santa Fe is given in detail as representative of the
other five. In article 3 of the Santa Fe decree a nursery must be provided in
establishments employing 25 women or more while in Buenos Aires, Cordoba,
and Corrientes the number is 50, and in Santiago del Estero 40 women
workers must be employed before a nursery is required. With this exception
the decrees are identical.
Regulatory Decree
of
Santa F e u
Article 1. In addition to the industries specified in articles 10 and 11 of [the
national] Law No. 11317, the following shall be deemed to be dangerous and
unhealthful industries or occupations, within the meaning of article 9 of the
law, in which women and minors under the age of 18 years, shall not be
employed, viz: Refining or distillation of petroleum or other hydrocarbons
used for lighting; manufacture of oil varnishes; manufacture of carbon bisul
phide; manufacture of sulphuric and acetic ether; manufacture of collodion
and its derivatives; manufacture of waterproof cloth; manufacture of sul
phuric acid; refining of precious metals (gold and silver); manufacture of
** Cronica Mensual del Departamento Nacional del Trabajo, November, 1926, pp. 1947,
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
53
aniline dyes; manufacture of picric acid; manufacture of oxalic acid; manu
facture of salicyclic acid; manufacture of murexide or purpurate «f ammon
ium ; manufacture of chlorine; manufacture of chloride of lime or hypochloride
of lime; manufacture of nitric or azotic acid; manufacture of chromates;
manufacture, smelting, and rolling of lead, and manufacture of litharge, red
lead, massicot, white lead, and oxide of lead; manufacture of zinc white;
manufacture of copper, and crushing of copper ore and the treatment thereof
with acids; gilding and silver plating; manufacture of arsenical compounds;
manufacture of sodium salts (sulphuric acid process) ; manufacture of potas
sium cyanide and its salts; manufacture of celluloid; distillation of tar products
(paraffin, creosote, carbolic acid, benzene, naphtha for commercial purposes);
manufacture of fireworks; manufacture of explosives; type founding; collect
ing of bones and rags; carding processes in textile factories.
Art. 2. Additions may be made to the above schedule at the request of
the administrative authorities on the basis of a report from the health council
if new industrial processes are introduced which must be classified as unhealth
ful. Total or partial exemption from the above prohibitions may be granted in
cases where it is shown by the manufacturers, subject to the approval of the
health council, that because of the introduction of new manufacturing proc
esses or the adoption of preventive measures the industry has ceased to be
dangerous or unhealthful.
A rt. 3. For the purposes of article 15 of the law, in all establishments in
which 25 or more women over the age of 18 years are employed a-suitable
nursery shall be provided for children under the age of 2 years, in which
such children shall be cared for while their mothers are at work.
Art. 4. The register of minors referred to in article 16 of the law shall
contain the following data: Serial number, name in full, age, nationality, sex,
occupation, date of entering and date of leaving the service, wages, address,
name of the parents or guardians, and reference to the certificates required
by the same article. The register of minors shall be signed by the director
general of statistics and labor or by the officials of his office to whom this
task is delegated outside the capital [of the Province].
Art. 5. Throughout the territory of the Province the authority administering
the law shall be the general bureau of statistics and labor; the health councils,
the medical inspectors of labor, and the medical officers of the police department
shall be required to issue the medical certificates referred to in certain articles
of the law.
Art. 6. The Ministry of the Interior, Justice, and Education shall make the
necessary arrangements to provide the employers with the books referred to
in article IT of the law. These books and all documents and formalities
required of industrial employers- or of minors and women under the law shall
be entirely free of charge.
Art. 7. In cases in which it is necessary to resort to the penalties provided
for in the law, the procedure followed shall be that laid down in the laws
relevant thereto, and for this purpose the administrative authority shall have
power to initiate and conduct the proceedings.
Art. 8. At the request of any party concerned, the director general of
statistics and labor shall instruct the inspectors to investigate cases in con
nection with the provisions of articles 1, 12, 13 and 14 of the law; the afore
said request may be made orally. Copies of the reports of the inspectors shall
be delivered to the persons concerned.
Art. 9. This decree shall apply to all the territory of the Province and shall
become effective 30 days after its publication. Notices containing a copy of
the law and of this decree shall be posted in public offices and other suitable
places,
HOUSING
LAW NO. 9667 OF OCTOBER 5, 1915
Article 1. There is hereby created, with the title of national housing com
mission, a commission of five members ad honorem named by the executive
authority, which shall exercise the functions of direction, development, and
control instituted by this law.
Art. 2. The funds created by article 7 of Law No. 7102 shall constitute
a special fund to be used in carrying out the provisions of this law and shall
be deposited in a special account to the credit of tlie national housing
commission.
54
LABOR LEGISLATION’ OF ATiOENTINA
Art. 3. The powers of the commission are:
(a)
To invest the funds received for the purposes of this law, by means of
contracts with construction companies and (with) individuals, in sanitary
and low-priced houses in the capital and the National Territories, said houses to
be sold or rented to workers, day laborers, or small-salaried employees.
(&) To act as a mediary in the granting of the benefits or inducements
accorded by this law to those societies or individuals who devote themselves
to the construction of low-priced houses in accordance with its specifications.
(c) To promote constructions of this type by individuals or construction
companies in the capital, in the Provinces, and in the National Territories by
means of prizes and pecuniary inducements.
( d) To encourage the formation of credit, charitable, and cooperative
societies which either engage in actual building or furnish money for this
purpose.
(e ) In general, everything related to the study, promotion, and construction,
and sanitation and healthfulness of said low-priced houses.
Art. 4. The commission shall sell, at cost price and by lot, any houses
which it constructs, exclusively to workers, day laborers, or employees with
a family, whose record as to good conduct and lack of resources are verified, it
being an indispensable requisite for the purposes of this last provision that the
purchaser shall not possess property valued at more than 3,000 pesos or equiva
lent income.
Art. 5. The total value of the ground and building shall be paid in fixed
monthly installments, with interest at the rate of 3 per cent and a cumulative
amortization of 5 per cent per annum on the amount of the sale, advance pay
ments being in no case permitted.
Art. 6. The purchaser or his successors can rescind the contract of sale
of a house, in which case there shall be returned to him or his legal heirs the
sums paid on account of amortization, together with the value of any useful
improvements made, after deduction of the cost of necessary repairs.
A rt. 7. As long as he has not received final title, the purchaser may not
under any conditions rent or alienate the property nor establish any business
therein, nor receive merchandise in storage.
The violation of this clause shall cause him ipso facto to forfeit his rights,
and he shall not be entitled to claim any other indemnity than that accorded
by article 6. Alienation to any of the persons referred to by article 4, with
previous authorization of the commission, is excepted.
Art. 8. Unjustified failure for five consecutive months to pay the monthly
installments of interest and amortization shall be sufficient cause for the can
cellation of the contract of sale, upon returning to the purchaser by way of
indemnity the sums referred to in article 6.
Art. 9. The purchaser shall receive his provisional deed, which shall contain
a statement of the sale, and the final title shall be granted him as soon as he
has paid the last installment of the price.
The recording of the sale with the recorder of deeds shall be done free of
charge and shall be exempt from the stamp tax.
Art. 10. The materials used in the construction of the houses contracted for
by the commission shall be exempt from taxes and import duties. The same
exemption is hereby granted to the materials used in the construction of lowpriced houses, whether individual or apartment houses, for workers or em
ployees, by societies having that object, provided the national commission ap
proves the plans and specifications thereof and the terms of their alienation
or leasing.
The amounts of these customs exemptions shall be refunded to the builders
as soon as the work is finished and approved by the national commission.
Art. 11. Houses acquired or constructed privately by employees, workmen,
or laborers and which comply with the following conditions, are exempt from
the payment of the land tax for the period of 10 years from the date of the
purchase or construction: (a) That they are for the proprietor’s private use;
(&) that their cost does not exceed 10,000 pesos; (c ) that it is duly proved
that the proprietor does not possess property valued at more than 3,000 pesos,
or equivalent income; (d) that they are not intended for business nor for the
storage of merchandise.
Art. 12. Building or credit societies having for their sole object the con
struction of low-priced houses, whether individual or apartment houses, or the
lending of money for their construction, are likewise exempt from fiscal taxes,
provided they conform to the purposes of this law, and the commission approves
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
55
the plans and specifications of their construction and the terms of their aliena
tion or leasing.
Art. 13. Low-priced houses built by charitable or cooperative societies for
sale or leasing are also exempt from fiscal taxes, those for sale being exempt
for the period of 10 years whenever the purchaser conforms to the requirements
of article 11. The plans, construction, and terms of leasing shall be approved
by the commission.
Art. 14. The transmission of the properties in case of death shall be exempt
from every inheritance tax or duty in the case of direct heirs, and shall have
a reduction of 50 per cent when the heirs are collateral.
Art. 15. The recorder of deeds shall keep in a special section a list of the
houses covered by the benefits of the present law.
When, in order to promote the construction of low-priced houses within the
terms of this law, loans are made secure by mortgages on such houses, such a
mortgage shall remain of record during all the time required for the extinction
of the debt through its cumulative amortization.
Art. 16. The national commission is empowered to establish temporary life
insurance for the purchaser of a low-priced home, by means of a premium which
it shall duly fix, in order to guarantee to his family, in case of death, the pay
ment of all installments still due.
Art. 17. The insurance premiums may be paid in a lump sum at the time of
making the sales contract or in monthly installments, diminishing according
to the risk.
Art. 18. Being in arrears for five monthly installments without good reason
shall cause the forfeiture of the insurance, and the sums already paid shall
be entered to the credit of the purchaser.
Art. 19. In case of the death of the purchaser, the surviving spouse can not
be compelled by the other heirs to divide the property.
Art. 20. In case of the death of both husband and wife, the children may
not divide the property among themselves as long as there are minors.
Art. 21. The executive authority shall include each year in the estimate of
expenditures for the nation the amount which he may deem necessary to be
appropriated for the National Commission for the purposes of this law.
The National Postal Savings Fund may lend money to the National Commis
sion for the purposes of this law, not to exceed 50 per cent of the deposits,
the interest rate to be 5 per cent.
Art. 22. The National Commission is empowered to acquire the land nec
essary for the buildings, to receive donations and legacies, and to administer
all the funds, and is required to render an account each six months to the
General Accounting Office of the Nation and to prepare a report, which shall
be published at the beginning of the regular session of each year.
Art. 23. The executive authority may cede to the National Commission any
public lands suitable for use for the construction of low-priced houses.
Art. 24. The commission shall propose annually to the Ministry [of the
Interior] the necessary employees, whose salaries shall be fixed in the general
budget of the administration and which shall be charged against general
expenditures, for the purposes of the calculation of the cost price of each
house.
A rt. 25. Anyone giving false information or altering the truth in any way
with the object of obtaining the benefits of this law shall be punished by
imprisonment of from 6 to 12 months or a fine of 500 to 1,000 pesos, in addition
to the loss of any installments paid.
Art. 26. Should the offender be a public employee, in addition to the penal
ties established in the preceding article he shall be ipso facto dismissed from
his position.
Art. 27. Should the act be committed by a society, the president and mana
ger shall be liable to the penalty.
Art. 28. Any provisions contrary to the present law are hereby repealed.
REGULATORY DECREE OF APRIL 21, 1917
Constitution and functioning of the national housing commission
Article 1. The national housing commission, at its first session of each
year, shall choose a president, a vice president, and a treasurer, from among
its membera
56
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
The president, in addition to the general functions pertaining to the position,
shall have that of managing the funds to be used in carrying out the law, but
in conjunction with the treasurer, who shall countersign everything which
signifies administrative transactions or acts affecting these funds.
The vice president shall take the president’s place in cases of his inability or
absence.
The treasurer shall have in his care the direction and control of the accounts
and shall be the head of the technical personnel of that section.
The secretary shall act as secretary of the commission, he shall be the im
mediate chief of the employees composing the personnel, and his signature
shall accompany that of the president on all documents for which no other
formality is prescribed.
Administration and employment of funds
Art. 2. The commission shall establish the form in which and conditions
under which the funds referred to in article 2 of the law shall be deposited.
Art. 3. In pursuance of paragraph (a) of article 3 of the law, the commis
sion shall invest the funds in the construction of “ low-priced houses,” “ indi
vidual ” and “ collective ” [apartment houses] and in making any expenditures
required by this and other purposes of the law.
Art. 4. For the construction of “ low-priced houses” the commission shall
acquire any lands that it may deem suitable whether they be those held by the
State in conformity with article 23 of the law, or those held by individuals
in conformity with article 22 thereof, in the manner established by article 5
of this regulation.
Art. 5. In order to exercise the power of acquiring lands granted it by article
22 of the law, the commission shall proceed in the following manner:
(a) It shall open a special register in which shall be noted all offers of
lands which are received and shall advertise as it may deem necessary each
time that it decides to make acquisitions.
(&) The offers shall be received on paper bearing stamps of the value of
5 pesos, and shall be accompanied by plans, in duplicate, containing precise
data regarding the location, extent, dimensions, and price of the lands offered,
in addition to any other data in the case which the commission may require in
order to complete its information.
(c) In the selection of lands, the commission shall take into consideration
not only the price but also their suitability for the nature and purposes of the
buildings to be erected, all in harmony with the spirit of the law; and, other
things being equal, said commission shall give preference to those lands which
are best adapted to a proper orientation of the buildings, to the reservation of
larger and better arranged areas for streets or avenues, and to the establish
ment of common services, public or private.
(d) In case of urgency arising from the announcement of a public auction
or other unforeseen circumstances, the commission may make direct purchase
of properties the advantages of which have been determined by a previous
study.
Art. 6. All legacies and donations shall be accepted on cendition of an inven
tory or previous investigation of any charges, stipulations, or liens with which
they may be encumbered. They shall be rejected whenever, in the judgment
of the commission, the charges, stipulations, or liens do not permit of the ad
vantageous application of the property to the purposes of the law. Once they
have been accepted, however, the commission shall proceed in the following
manner:
(а) Should they consist of money, income securities, or commercial paper in
general, they shall be added to the fund created by article 7 of law No. 7102,
and shall be administered in the same form, provided this procedure is not
rendered impossible by any charges, stipulations, or liens with which they may
be encumbered.
(б) Should they consist of immovables, they shall be included in the inherit
ance under the law, and shall be duly applied to the purposes of said law, pro
vided they are not encumbered with charges, stipulations, or liens requiring a
special form of procedure.
Art. 7. The commission shall each year request the Executive Authority to
determine the sum referred to in article 21 of the law. Such request shall be
accompanied by any information which may serve to enlighten the Executive
Authority concerning the needs arising from the application of the law*
tTEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
57
Art. 8. Of the proceeds from the 3 per cent interest which the law authorizes
it to collect, the commission shall take any part that may be necessary in order
to pay the general expenses of its functioning and administration.
Low-priced houses
Art. 9. “ Low-priced houses,” for the purposes of Law No. 9667, shall be
those “ individual,” or independent, houses and those “ collective,” or apart
ment houses which may be constructed by the national housing commission
or its order, in accordance with the requirements of Law No. 9667 and its
regulations. Likewise to be considered such are any houses, of either of the
types indicated, that may be constructed by individuals or enterprises, pro
vided they conform to all the following conditions:
(a)
That they are situated in localities near or of easy access to urban or
rural centers where workmen or employees are concentrated, and be built
for families.
(&) That they are intended to be rented or sold to persons having the
characteristics established in article 3, paragraph (a), or article 4 of Law
No. 9667.
(c) That the sale price or the rent, in each case, is within the limit fixed
by the commission.
(d) That they comply with the requirements of the law and its regulations
in their construction and use.
Characteristics of buildings
Art. 10. The “ low-priced houses” shall combine the following charac
teristics :
1. They shall be built on grounds hygienically situated, preferably in zones
provided with sewerage and running water and having ready means of com
munication and suitable lighting.
2. If constructed in districts lacking sewerage, this service shall be estab
lished locally by means of drains leading to septic tanks, and if running
water is lacking wells shall be constructed.
3. The walls shall be constructed of first-quality common bricks and be
as thick as existing municipal regulations require; the mortar shall be made
of lime and sand, with brick dust. The walls may also be constructed of
reinforced concrete or other material equally firm and durable, though in
this latter case they must have sufficient thickness to be effective insulators
against the outside temperature.
The plastering outside shall be done with a good mixture of lime, sand,
and Portland cement, and that inside shall be of the type called ordinary
plaster.
4. The foundation walls shall be insulated from the building walls by a
layer of impermeable material. Those building walls which are most exposed
to moisture, because of their position, shall be rendered impermeable by
means of such materials as experience proves most effective.
5. All the interior angles of the rooms shall be rounded, avoiding sharp
edges, and there shall not be permitted any projections or moldings which
may interfere with cleanliness.
6. The inside walls and the ceilings shall be whitewashed or painted with
oil paints. Papering shall be prohibited. The iron work shall be oil-painted.
The woodwork shall be varnished, or oil-painted, or whitewashed. When
ever whitewash is used, it shall be renewed with such frequency as sanitation
and the health of the inhabitants require.
7. The minimum height of the upper stories shall be 3 meters. That of
the first story shall be 3.6 meters in apartment houses and 3 meters in indi
vidual houses. The first floor shall, moreover, always have a minimum eleva
tion of 30 centimeters above the level of the ground.
8. The dimensions of the dwellings shall be based on a minimum of 6
square meters of area for each adult and 3 for each child under 12 who
occupy them, but in no case may the area occupied by a dwelling be less
than 9 square meters.
9. Each dwelling shall have in the outer wall and placed at a distance of 20
centimeters beneath the ceiling a ventilation grating with a mechanism for
opening and closing. The open spaces between the stories shall be ventilated
by means of air chambers.
58
LABOR LEGISLATION OE ARGENTINA
10. Whenever it is necessary to accelerate the natural ventilation in non
dwelling places, resort shall be had to some means of artificial ventilation easily
and economically installed and kept in order, such as ducts, registers, and
flues for removal of vitiated air.
11. All the outside doors and windows shall be provided with transoms,
easily opened and closed, so that the rooms may be better ventilated. In
malarial places, wire screens, easily inserted and removed, shall be supplied.
12. The interior shall be arranged in such a way that all portions may have
sufficient air and light. In each case there must be a well ventilated and
lighted room, as spacious as possible, which may serve equally well as a
living room during the day, as a dining room, workroom, and even as a kitchen
if necessary.
13. Any basements that are constructed may not be used as living quarters.
They shall be designed, when necessary, to serve as a kitchen, bathroom,
lavatory, or for other auxiliary purposes, but in no case for sleeping rooms.
14. Access to the sleeping rooms shall be as direct as possible, and their
area and height shall be in accordance with the provisions of paragraphs 7
and 8. They shall be isolated from water-closets and kitchens and shall have
a minimum capacity of 18 cubic meters per person. These rooms shall have
every provision possible for the requirements of health.
15. The stairways shall be well lighted and ventilated, their height shall
not exceed 17 centimeters per step, they shall have ample landing on each floor,
and they shall provide easy access to the rooms. In apartment houses they
shall be of incombustible material and shall be distributed in such a way
as to serve the smallest possible number of apartments.
16. Each house shall have a bathroom with outlets for a shower bath and
lavatory. The water-closet shall be separated from all other parts of the
house, shall not contain more than 1 square meter of area, and shall be
ventilated in accordance with the regulations of the National Bureau of
Sanitary Works.
17. The minimum dimensions of the courts for giving light and air to sleeping
rooms, living rooms, dining rooms, and other principal rooms in apartment
houses, shall be:
Minimum
Shortest
area of
side of
court
court
(square
(meters)
meters)
12
20
30
50
St
w
3
5
5
In the small courts for comfort, ventilation, and lighting of kitchens, waterclosets, passages, or auxiliary rooms, the minimum dimensions shall be:
Minimum
Shortest
area of
side of
court
court
(square
(meters)
meters)
1 or 2 stories.....____ . . . . . . . . . . __ — __ . . . . . . . ______ _____________ _______
3 or 4 stories...— . . - - . . . . — . . . . . . . . ___ _________________________ _
10
15
2
3
Preference must be given, when possible, to courts open on one or more
sides, and there shall be an endeavor to have the open area concentrated in
the fewest possible courts.
In the case of apartment houses more than two stories high, at least onethird of the ground surface shall be reserved for courts, walks, and inner
gardens.
18. In the apartment houses, there shall be an endeavor to provide the
dwellings with wardrobes, cupboards, closets, and other built-in conveniences
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
59
which may eke out the scarcity of furniture possessed by the families which
live in said houses.
19. Apartment houses shall not have more than four stories. In each case
the commission shall determine the number of stories within that limit, ac
cording to the location, extent, dimensions of the ground, orientation, and
other circumstances and characteristics of the building. Individual houses
shall not have more than’ two stories. In both cases the ground floor shall
be considered a story.
20. In apartment houses there shall be a special installation, common to all
the apartments, for the collection of garbage and trash, and wherever there
is no municipal service for the collection of trash, incinerating furnaces shall
be constructed.
21. In apartment houses there shall be, outside of the apartments, special
rooms for laundries with the necessary conveniences, and the manner and
time in which each occupant shall make use of the laundry must be provided
for in the regulations governing each house. Adjoining the laundry shall be
provided an antiseptic bath for soaking the clothes before washing.
Application of "benefits granted by the law
Art. 11. The benefits and inducements provided by Law No. 9667 shall be
granted in the cases specified therein, and in the forms and under the condi
tions established in this regulation for the application of the pertinent articles
of the law.
Art. 12. The granting of the privileges accorded by article 10 of the law shall
be effected in the following manner:
(a) In the case of buildings erected by the commission or at its order,
the commission shall certify the quantity, class, and origin of the materials in
tended for the constructions to be benefited in an itemized list, for which it
shall be responsible.
(b) Should the commission import directly, the exemption from import
taxes and duties shall be made effective at the time when the materials enter.
(<?) If the importations are made by the contractors to whom the com
mission let the work, the duties shall be refunded at the time fixed in the
second paragraph of article 10 of the law. In this case the commission shall
make the certifications provided for in paragraph (a) and in addition that of
the actual use of the materials in the works benefited.
\d) In the case of buildings erected by the societies referred to in article
15 [18] of the law, the procedure shall be in the form established by para
graph (c).
Art. 13. In order that any houses sold by such societies may receive the
benefits of the law, it shall be necessary, aside from the other conditions im
posed by the law and this regulation, that the sales be made in accordance
with a strictly mathematical plan, specifying the amount and date of each of
the payments and itemizing the portions thereof to be applied to interest,
amortization, insurance, etc.
The commission, having the report of the promoters or builders, shall fix
the rental or sale price, as the case may be, which prices may not be modified
without the authorization of the commission, under penalty of being immedi
ately outside the terms of the law and deprived of its benefits, without preju
dice to any other legal penalties applicable to the case.
If, in the judgment of the commission, the purposes of Law No. 9667 are
not being carried out at any time during the construction or use of the houses,
it may so declare and suspend the benefits of the law, without prejudice to
the restitution of any benefits already obtained, and any other legal penalties
applicable to the case.
Art. 14. In order to secure the exemptions accorded by article 12 of the
law the societies must abide by the following provisions: (a) Their by-laws
shall be approved by the commission; (b) they shall accept the supervision
of the commission in their administration and accounting; (c) they shall remit
their balance sheets and statements annually to the commission; (d) they
shall adjust their operations and constructions to the provisions of the law
and this regulation; (e) when they present plans they shall proceed in the
form prescribed in article 5, paragraph (&) of this regulation.
Art. 15. In the matter of the exemptions accorded by the second paragraph
of article 9 of the law, the commission, whenever so requested by the party
60
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
concerned, shall in due time transmit the necessary information to the
recorder of deeds.
Art. 16. In granting the privileges accorded by articles 11, 12, and 13 of
the law the commission shall in due time transmit the pertinent information
to the authorities directly concerned therewith.
Art. 17. At the request of any party concerned or on judicial order the
commission, after establishing the facts of the case, shall furnish the necessary
certificates for the application of article 14 of the law.
Art. 18. The commission shall report to the recorder of deeds a list of all
the houses which it constructs and all the houses under its control which re
ceive the benefits of the law. It shall likewise communicate to him a list of
any houses recorded as “ low priced” which for any reason cease to be en
titled to the benefits of the law.
Art. 19. At the request of any party concerned or on judicial order, the
commission shall furnish the records necessary in case of the application of
articles 19 and 20 of the law.
Promotion of purposes of the law
Art. 20. The commission shall promote the constructions referred to in para
graph (c) of article 3 of the law by means of the application of article 22
of this regulation and the granting of the prizes and inducements which it
shall establish in each case.
Art. 21. The commission shall encourage the formation of the societies
referred to in paragraph (d), of article 3 of the law, in the following manner:
(a) It shall grant, to any now existing and to any that may be formed here
after, the benefits of articles 10, 12, and 13 of the law, under the conditions
set forth in articles 13 and 14 of this regulation; (&) it shall endeavor to
spread in such forms and by such means as it may deem most suitable and
timely, the knowledge of the pertinent provisions of the law and of this
regulation; (c) it shall apply the corresponding provisions of article 22 of
this regulation.
Art. 22. For the purposes of paragraph (e), of article 3 of the law, the com
mission shall apply the following provisions: (a) The commission shall like
wise provide for the construction of “ low-priced houses,” “ individual,” and
“ collective” (apartment houses), in the manner determined by article 4 of
this regulation.
(b) It shall encourage the remodeling of existing buildings in the capital
and National Territories, especially of tenement houses (conventillos) and
huts (rancherias), whenever it is possible and advantageous to convert
them to the purposes of the law and of this regulation, by means of the
granting of the benefits accorded by the law and which may be applicable to
buildings remodeled with this end in view.
(c) Whenever the buildings can be adapted to the purposes of the law and
of this regulation by mere renovation, the commission shall encourage the per
formance of the work in the form established in the preceding clause.
(d) When it deems such action opportune it shall procure from private
persons and concerns, or from municipalities and other authorities, the cession
of grounds suited to the construction of “ low-priced houses” and also the
performance of work or the installation of public services that may contribute
to the improvement of the living conditions of the workmen or employees to
whom the law refers; such as the laying out of gardens and parks, the opening
or widening of streets and avenues, and the establishment of public libraries,
baths, lavatories, gymnasiums, and transportation facilities.
(e) By furnishing plans free of charge, by building inspection services, by
the preparation of estimates and computations, by approving and arranging
for the exemption from municipal or Provincial taxes or contributions, and by
granting the other benefits applicable to the case which are accorded by the
law and this regulation, it shall promote the existence or the formation of
societies having as their object the construction of “ low-priced houses” or
the furnishing of money for their construction, provided such concerns conform
to the provisions of the law and its regulations.
(f) It shall carry on the work of propaganda and dissemination of the pro
visions and purposes of the law and its regulations in such forms and by such
means as it may consider most practical and suitable, and it may solicit the
cooperation of the press, and of the schools, of popular associations, and of
persons who can contribute to that object.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
61
{g) It shall strive especially for the formation of cooperative societies for
the construction of and transferring title to “ low-priced houses” among
popular groups, social organizations, and mutual-aid societies, and with this
object it shall duly formulate standard by-laws in which provision shall be
made, whenever possible, for insurance against cases of death, as specified in
article 16 of the law, or of disability.
(h) It can appoint boards of resident landowners composed of three mem
bers ad honorem, and intrust to them the work relating to propaganda or
furtherance of the law and its regulations, and to diffusion of the knowledge
of the benefits to be derived from its application.
(i) It shall promote the improvement of the sanitary conditions of the
dwellings of the people, reporting to the city authorities, the National Depart
ment of Health, the National Department of Labor, and the police department
any living places whose unsanitary conditions may imperil the healthfulness of
the districts in which the “ low-priced houses ” are located.
Art. 23. The commission shall create and award an annual prize for the
family keeping its house in best condition, and shall prescribe the regulations
applicable to such houses and see to their enforcement.
Art. 24. The commission shall prepare a special regulation for the applica
tion of articles 16, 17, and 18 of the law and shall submit it in due time to the
executive authority for approval.
Sale and leasing of “ low-priced houses”
Art. 25. The commission, when it is to sell “ low-priced houses,” shall
request the press to publish its proposal, indicating the period during which
it will receive applications, in order to study them in connection with article
27 of this regulation, and the following data: Location, number and price of
the houses offered for sale, number of rooms each house contains, and other
information which it may deem suitable, and date and place of the drawing
of lots.
Art. 26. The commission shall hand each applicant a printed form which
he shall fill in with the data which the commission may deem necessary for
the study as to the better application of the provisions of the law and its regu
lations. The forms shall contain on the back thereof the principal provisions
of the law and its regulations which are applicable to the case, or a resume
of the same, and any instructions which the commission may deem suitable for
facilitating the proceedings.
Art. 27. When, in accordance with article 4 of the law, the commission is
to sell individual “ low-priced houses,” it shall proceed in the following manner:
( a)
It shall see that the drawing is done between applicants in the same
circumstances as regards number of persons of and under age who live on the
income or incomes of the members of the family and as regards the importance
of those incomes in relation to the normal expenditures.
(&) The composition of the family of each applicant shall be verified by
means of certificates of the Bureau of Vital Statistics, the police department,
or other trustworthy documents or evidence.
(o)
The incomes of the family shall be proved by certificates signed by those
who pay such incomes, and duly established in the judgment of the comr
mission, in any form which said commission may indicate in the particular case.
Art. 28. The commission shall prepare at its convenience, but before effect
ing any sales, a special regulation in which shall be specified the procedure to
be followed for determining the circumstances referred to in paragraph (a)
of the preceding article.
Art. 29. The drawing having taken place and the house allotted, the grantee
shall receive from the commission a notebook containing: The date of the
drawing and of the allotment of the house; a detailed specification of the
property allotted; legal conditions of the allotment; periods, dates, and manner
of the payment of the monthly installments; amount of these installments,
with specification of the nature of the sums comprising them, in accordance
with article 5 of the law; and a r§sum6 or printed copy of the principal pro
visions of the law and its regulations having any bearing on the contract.
There shall also be delivered to the grantee the provisional deed prescribed
by article 9 of the law.
100691*—30----- 5
62
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Art. 30. The commission shall keep a special record of the sales it makes.
In this record, notations shall be made as in the notebook prescribed by article
29 of this regulation, and any other notations that may become necessary in
order to evidence any incident that may affect the terms of the contract
under the provisions of the law and its regulations, or as a consequence of
unforseen events.
One page of the record shall be devoted to each house.
Art. 31. For the purposes of article 8 of the law, the commission shall send,
each month of delay [in making payments], a notice to the purchaser by
registered mail.
Art. 32. Notwithstanding the first paragraph of article 7 of the law, when
ever a purchaser is obliged to leave his house temporarily for an absence from
the locality, while still possessing the intention of acquiring final title there
to, he may petition the commission to rent said house to a person coming un
der paragraph (a) of article 3 of the law and to reserve to him his rights
on condition that he continue paying the sums due on account of the amorti
zation and interest to which article 5 of the law refers, and provided the
absence does not last longer than one year.
Art. 33. For the purposes of article 7 of the law, there shall not be con
sidered as prohibited renting the lodging granted to an outside person, pro
vided it be not more than one, nor as prohibited storage that which consists of
materials to be used in work which the dweller does in his home, nor as pro
hibited business the workroom used for this work, provided it causes no danger
or annoyance and has been established with the express authorization of the
commission.
This provision shall apply also to paragraph (d) of article 11 of the law,
and to this effect the commission shall make the appropriate communication
to the proper authorities whenever so requested by the party concerned.
Art. 34. In rented houses, the commission may authorize in exceptional
cases the setting up in special rooms of commercial establishments, in which
the sale of alcoholic beverages shall be prohibited and for which the com
mission shall determine the nature and price of the articles to be sold.
Art. 35. In case of cancellation of the contract, according to articles 6 and
8 of the law, or as a consequence of failure to abide by any legal conditions
having the sanction thereof, the commission shall proceed in the following
manner:
(a)
The value of the repairs that have to be made in the house, except those
required by deterioration due to natural wear and tear, shall be deducted from
the amount credited to the purchaser.
(&) Any improvements which the purchaser has made in the house with the
consent of the commission shall be credited to him in accordance with their
useful value at the time of the cancellation.
Art. 36. So long as he has not acquired final title, the purchaser shall not be
permitted to make any alteration or improvement in the house without the
consent of the commission, under penalty of being liable, in case of cancellation,
for whatever it may cost to restore things to their previous condition, if the
commission should so decide, and of receiving no compensation for those
alterations or improvements which the commission may decide to retain.
Art. 37. In cases of leasing, whenever there is an excessive number of appli
cants, recourse shall be had to the drawing of lots in accordance with the
rules established in article 27 of this regulation.
Art. 38. For the purposes of articles 25 and 27 of the law, the commission
shall transmit the pertinent information to the Federal judge sitting and in the
case of article 26 to the administrative authority concerned,
EMPLOYMENT AGENCIES
PUBLIC AGENCIES
LAW NO. 9148 OF SEPTEMBER 25, 1913
A rticle 1. There shall be established under the immediate direction of the
employment bureau of the National Department of Labor (Law No. 8999, art.
5), the following free public agencies: Two in the Federal capital and one in
each capital of a Province or National Territory; another in the city of Rosario
and another in Bahia Blanca. Those first mentioned are of the first class, and
the latter of the second class.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
63
Abt. 2. Until the enactment of the budget law, agencies of the first class
shall have the following personnel: A chief, two assistants, and an orderly,
whose salaries shall be 350, 200, and 100 pesos, respectively. Those of the
second class shall have a chief receiving 200 pesos, an assistant receiving 150
pesos, and an orderly receiving 80 pesos per month.
Art. 3. The executive authority shall regulate the form in which the national
immigration agencies in the Territories and the Provinces shall cooperate in
placing workers, in agreement with the National Department of Labor; and the
latter shall, for the same purpose, put itself into communication with such
official agencies as are maintained by the Provinces or municipalities within
their respective jurisdictions, or with those which are subsidized under this law.
Art. 4. Government offices which use the services of domestic or day workers
shall apply to the free public agencies for such workers as they may need.
Art. 5. Pecuniary aid is hereby granted the free employment agencies of
philanthropic societies, mutual aid societies, or trade-unions having legal ca
pacity and which submit to the supervision and inspection of the National
Department of Labor.
A r t . 6 The executive authority, in a regulation of a general character, shall
determine the conditions, proportion, and form of distribution of the subsidy
to the agencies specified in the preceding article.
Art. 7. For the purposes of article 5, the executive authority may spend as
much as 25,000 pesos (national currency) per year, such item to be included
hereafter in the annual budget.
A r t . 8. The operation of employment agencies for domestic and day workers
is forbidden in the capital and National Territories unless they have previously
been enrolled in the special book which shall be kept by the municipal authori
ties or governors of National Territories, and in which shall be noted the name
of the proprietor, his civil status and occupation, classes of placements in which
he will engage, and the address at which the agency will operate. Any change
in said circumstances shall be reported to the municipal authorities for entry
within the period of 30 days. Existing agencies shall comply with this re
quirement within 60 days from the promulgation of this law.
A r t . 9. Employment agencies may in no case operate in places connected
with hotels, inns, or saloons.
A r t . 10. Any owners of employment agencies who violate the provisions of
articles 8 and 9 shall incur a fine of 100 pesos (national currency), which fine
shall be doubled in case of repetition. In either case, moreover, the agency
may be closed.
A r t . 11. In addition to the civil or penal liabilities to which he may be
subject under the common law, any agent who has misled or injured his
clients by means of false notices or other deceptive procedure shall incur
a fine of from 10 to 100 pesos for each violation, the fine to be doubled in
case of repetition.
A r t . 12. The fines referred to in the preceding articles shall be collected in
accordance with Law No. 9658 of August 28, 1915.
A r t . 13. The executive authority shall make the regulations necessary for
securing compliance with this law, endeavoring to coordinate the action of the
different kinds of employment agencies for the purpose of duly regulating
the work.
.
PRIVATE AGENCIES
LAW NO. 9661 OF AUGUST 28, 1915
A r t i c l e 1. Any parent, guardian, custodian, or legal representative of a
minor, who by means of untruthful statements induces a manager or employer
to take such minor into his employ in violation of the provisions of Law No.
529116 shall incur a fine of 20 pesos.
* A r t . 2. Whenever in compliance with the provisions of article 5 of Law
No. 8999, the National Department of Labor ascertains that an employment
agency has deceived or misled a worker, whether by indicating to him a differ
ent wage or working day, or work different in kind from that which he is
really to perform, or which is to be performed in a place or in conditions dif
ferent from those specified, the manager of the agency shall incur a fine of
from 20 to 50 pesos and shall refund the commission collected. When the em
16 Superseded by Law No. 11317.
64
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
ployment secured through the owner of the agency does not last more than
three days, for any reason not imputable to the worker, the manager shall
return the commission collected.
Art. 3. Employment agencies are forbidden to collect commissions in ad
vance, under penalty of a fine of twice the amount collected for such purpose.
Employers who contract for labor through these agencies guarantee the pay
ment of the commission agreed upon out of the wages earned by the workers.
Art. 4. Owners of employment agencies and all those who take part in or
facilitate fraudulent negotiations for the collection of unlawful commissions
for a labor contract shall incur a fine of four times the amount of the sums
unlawfully collected, and shall be liable, moreover, to the penalty for principals
or accomplices in the crime of swindling.
Art. 5. In case of repetition of such offenses, the penalties shall be cumula
tive, each day of violation being considered as a new offense.
Art. 6. In case of repetition within 12 months after the date of the previous
conviction, the penalty shall be doubled.
Art. 7. Ninety per cent of the amount of fines collected for violations of
labor laws shall be applied to the formation of a fund for the welfare of
workers and the improvement of the services of the National Department of
Labor. The executive authority shall regulate the distribution of these funds.
The remaining 10 per cent shall be distributed by the National Department of
Labor among the inspectors, in proportion to the importance of the violations
which they have proved.
Art. 8. The fines to which the preceding articles refer shall be collected
in accordance with Law No. 9658 of August 28, 1915.
PUBLIC ANtf PRIVATE AGENCIES
REGULATORY DECREE OF NOVEMBER 9,1915 (FOR FEDERAL CAPITAL
AND NATIONAL TERRITORIES)
A rticle 1. Laws Nos. 9148 and 9661 shall be applied in accordance with the
provisions of this regulatory decree.
C hapter 1.—General provisions
Art. 2. The operation of employment agencies for domestic and day workers
is forbidden in the capital and the National Territories unless they have pre
viously been enrolled in the national employment bureau in a special register
which shall be kept for the purpose. The enrollment shall contain the serial
number, name of the owner, his civil status and occupation, class of placements
in which he will engage, and the address of the agency. In the National Terri
tories the enrollment book shall be kept by the municipal authority or by the
governor of the Territory. The existing agencies shall comply with this re
quirement within 30 days following the date of this decree. Any change
in the matters indicated must be reported to the said authorities for entry at
least three days in advance.
Art. 3. Any agencies that may be established in the Federal capital shall
report to the National Department of Labor, at least 8 days in advance, the
date on which their activities will begin.
Art. 4. No employment agency may operate in annexes of or places con
tiguous to agencies of money brokers or steamships, hotels, inns, or saloons. In
all the agencies, printed copies of the laws and regulations relating to labor
shall be posted.
Art. 5. The owners or managers of agencies may not retain any document
belonging to a worker or employer, such as memorandum books, letters of rec
ommendation, identification papers, etc.
Art. 6. Agencies of any class are absolutely forbidden to disqualify a worker
or employer because of refusal to accept the work or the worker offered to
him, whatever the cause thereof.
Art. 7. When it is a matter of employment in establishments or enterprises
whose workers are on strike, agencies shall make this circumstance known to
the applicant.
Art. 8. Proprietors of agencies established in the Federal capital are re
sponsible for the acts of their branch offices or those in charge of the same, in
whatever part of the Republic or of the capital they may be.
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
65
Art. 9. Government offices which employ domestic or day workers shall
apply to the free and public agencies for such workers as they may need.
Chapter 2.—Private agencies
Art. 10. The proprietors of agencies must always keep in sight a card show
ing the commission rates which they charge.
Art. 11 (as amended by decree of January 31, 1918). Agencies shall be re
sponsible for the identity of the persons whom they place, and also for the in
formation which they give to employers and to workers and servants concerning
fitness for the work, previous conduct, and other data which they may be asked
to furnish.
When the employment considered is domestic service, the agents can not
fill it without previous presentation of the work book granted by the National
Department of Labor, through a branch of the national employment bureau.
This book is an indispensable requisite for employment as a domestic.
The work book shall bear on its first page the personal description of its
possessor and his photograph. Under the headings on the second leaf the
agent must have recorded, for the national employment bureau, the name of
the employer, the date of employment, and the wage agreed on.
The agents are absolutely prohibited from making annotations of any kind
in the work books of domestics.
Those who violate the preceding provisions shall incur the penalty provided
in article 26 of this regulation.
Art. 12. Collection of the commission in advance is absolutely forbidden to
owners of agencies, under penalty of a fine of twice the amount of the sum
collected for such purpose. The commission may not be collected except at
the same time or after the labor contract is signed; but when the employment
lasts less than three days, for any cause not imputable to the worker, the
agency shall refund the commission collected.
Art. 13. Among causes not imputable to the worker shall be included
destination or duties not stipulated in the agreement referred to in article 15
and the closing down of the business, factory, or workshop, or office, for
reasons beyond the will of the worker.
Art. 14. In case the commission has not been paid at the time the labor
contract is signed, employers, by the mere fact of using the services of an
employment agency guarantee and are responsible for the payment of the com
mission agreed upon. For this purpose they may deduct from the first two
semimonthly payments of salary of the worker the amount of such commission,
provided the agency has demanded it.
Art. 15 When it is a question of placing workers outside the capital an
agreement shall be entered into between the owner of the agency, the em
ployer, and the worker, and each of the signatories shall keep a copy thereof.
Art. 16. In the agreement mentioned in the preceding article, the following
matters shall be stated: (a) Name and address of the contracting parties and
of the agent; (&) class of work or employment; (c) hours of labor; (d) place
and destination where the work is to be performed; (e) wages; (f) terms of
payment; form in which the commission is to be deducted from the wage.
Art. 17. Any employment agency owner not complying with this requirement
shall incur the fine prescribed by article 2 of Law No. 9661.
Art. 18. In the case of placements covered by article 15, agencies of the
Federal capital may collect their commissions upon authorization of the na
tional employment bureau. The latter shall not authorize said collection unless
said agencies present to it the railway passes issued in the name of the workers
contracted for and the agreements prescribed by said article.
Chapter 3.—Inspection and penalties
Art. 19. The inspection of employment agencies shall be made by the National
Department of Labor.
Art. 20. Inspectors of the National Department of Labor who observe viola
tions of the municipal ordinances in the rooms of employment agencies shall
take note thereof and report them at once to the chief of the division of
inspection.
Art. 21. The division of inspection of the National Department of Labor
shall have charge of workers’ complaints against the agencies, and the legal
adviser of such department shall handle cases involving civil claims.
66
LABOR LEGISLATION OE ARGENTINA
Art. 22. No action for the return of a commission or for lack of compliance
with the labor contract may be brought before the legal adviser of the National
Department of Labor by an intermediary of the workers or employees, but
only directly by them or their legal representatives.
A r t . 23. When an employment agency deceives or misinforms a worker,
whether by mentioning a different salary or different working hours or work
different from that which is really to be performed, or in a place or under
conditions different from tlioss indicated, the manager or owner of the agency
shall incur a fine of from 20 to 50 pesos and shall refund the commission re
ceived, remaining liable moreover to the civil or penal liabilities therefor under
the common law.
Art. 24. The owners of employment agencies or any other person who pro
motes fraudulent negotiations or takes part in them in order to collect un
lawful commissions for a labor contract, shall incur a fine equal to four times
the sum unlawfully received, and shall also be liable to the penalty for prin
cipals or accomplices in the crime of swindling.
Art. 25. Any person who, within a year following the first conviction, again
violates the provisions of the law and of this regulation shall be considered a
repeater and as such shall be given a fine double the amount of the first in
accordance with article 6 of Law No. 9661.
A r t . 26. Owners of employment agencies who violate the provisions of articles
8 and 9 of Law No. 9148 shall incur a fine of 100 pesos (national currency),
which fine shall be doubled in case of repetition, without prejudice in either
case, to the closing of the agency.
Art. 27. In cases of repetition of the offenses, the penalties shall be cumu
lative, each day of violation being regarded as a new offense.
The same provision shall apply in cases of violation of this regulation.
Art. 28. The fines established in the laws to which this regulation refers,
and also such fines as may arise from violations of the same, shall be collected
in accordance with Law No. 9658.
Chapter 4
Art. 29. For the purposes of article 7 of Law No. 9661, there shall be kept
in the National Department of Labor a register of fines, in which shall be
noted those imposed on each establishment and the amount of those collected.
Art. 30. In the Bank of the Argentine Nation a special account shall be
opened for sums received on account of the fines paid by violators, to which
account shall be transferred those payments made directly to the department
as well as those collected by the criminal courts.
Art. 31. The destination of the amount of these fines shall be that indicated
in article 7 of Law No. 9661, and for this purpose the director of the National
Department of Labor shall pay monthly to each employee charged with super
vising compliance with labor laws the share to which he is entitled of 10 per
cent of the fines collected, as shown by the receipts for deposits made in the
Bank of the Argentine Nation.
Art. 32. Of the 90 per cent remaining, one-third shall be applied to the for
mation of a special fund for “ social welfare ” and the other two-thirds to the
promotion of the work of the department.
Art. 33. When the amount deposited so permits, the Executive Authority
shall decree the investment of the “ social welfare” fund in uses suitable for
that purpose.
Art. 34. The investment for promoting the work of the National Department
of Labor shall be applied to the following purposes: (a) Expansion of the
library and acquisition of books; (&) dissemination of the laws and regula
tions concerning labor; (c) printing and free distribution, to workers’ and
employers’ organizations, of studies, monographs, and reports on social ques
tions; (d) publication of charts against alcoholism and social vices; (e) pay
ment of the cost of special studies concerning labor in the Republic of Ar
gentina; (f) the administrative services of the department.
Art. 35. These expenditures shall be made in each case with the authoriza
tion of the Executive Authority, and the National Department of Labor shall
render accounts in accordance with the accounting law.
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
67
PROVINCIAL LAWS OR DECREES
The Provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, Santa Fe, and Tucuman have laws
or decrees providing for employment agencies and regulating their operations,
such legislation having been enacted on the following dates, respectively:
January 9, 1924; September 15, 1914; May 12, 1924, and May 1, 1918. The
decrees of Cordoba are given here in detail, since they cover both Provincial and
private employment agencies, while the law of Buenos Aires and the decree
of Santa Fe legislate only on Provincial employment agencies, and the law of
Tucuman covers only private agencies.
R egulatory Decree
of
Cordoba—Provincial E mployment Agency
Article 1. The administration of the Provincial employment agency is under
the charge of the chief of the bureau of labor and general statistics in accord
ance with the provision of the decree relating thereto.
A rt. 2. The services of the agency shall be free to the public.
Art. 3. The chief of the bureau of labor and general statistics shall appoint
a competent person to direct the work of the agency and to attend to the
details thereof, who shall also give oral or written information concerning the
demand and supply of labor, wages, and other matters relating to the condi
tion of the labor market, and the legal conditions arising between the con
tracting parties, provided they shall be only of an informative character and
without legal force.
Art. 4. The office hours shall be published in due time.
Art. 5. Applications by employers and by workers shall be separated accord
ing to trades and occupations. They shall be entered in numerical order on
cards and shall be attended to promptly and accurately.
Art. 6. Applications from outside [the capital] shall be attended to in like
manner.
Art. 7. Applications of workers shall be considered as disposed of under
this regulation when the workers have been sent to employers and the former
start to work.
Art. 8. Offers of work by employers shall be good for a period of 30 days,
unless formally withdrawn before that time. Employers are therefore required
to give notice when the position offered has been filled, even if without the
assistance of the agency.
Art. 9. If within the stipulated month, the agency sends to an employer who
resides outside of the capital the workers requested by him, and the latter are
not employed, the former is required to reimburse the round-trip expenses of
such workers.
Art. 10. The agency shall keep in constant contact with the employers,
to ascertain if the workmen sent them arrive or if there are any other openings.
Art. 11. Those who apply to the agency and do not comply with the provi
sions of the regulations shall not be enrolled again in the applications for work.
Art. 12. A book of complaints for the use of the public shall be kept in the
office of the agency.
Art. 13. On the 1st day of each month the agency shall submit to the
ministry of public works and industries the monthly labor statistics and report
as provided in the regulations.
Decree of Cordoba—Private E mployment A gencies
Article 1. Employment agencies for dayworkers, mechanics, servants of both
sexes for any enterprise or domestic occupation, foremen, and employees can
not be opened without first obtaining a license from the ministry of public
works, which shall require from the applicants therefor security in the
sum of 500 pesos (national currency) deposited in the Bank of Cordoba.
The present owners of private employment agencies shall secure such license
and give such security within 60 days after publication of this decree.
68
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Register
Art. 2. Each agency shall keep a register for recording the name, residence,
prior record, and other conditions required by the bureau of labor, of each
person obtaining employment through the agency.
Card
Art. 3. The agency shall present to the interested party a card containing
a copy of the record in the register.
Premises
Art. 4. The premises used by such agencies must meet the following con
ditions :
(a)
They must not be situated in streets of ill-repute, nor in buildings where
there is a hotel, an inn, a restaurant, or any place selling alcoholic beverages.
(&)
They shall be spacious, with light and ventilation, whitewashed or
painted, and have their own separate toilets. Their floors must be washed at
least once a week. Sanitary spittoons shall be provided.
( 0) The premises shall not be connected with the rest of the building.
Fraudulent charge
Art. 5. No employment agent shall require payment from the applicant for
the service agreed on until the applicant is employed by the enterprise or em
ployer who had made the request or to whom the applicant had been sent.
Rules and regulations
Art. 6. In accordance with law No. 2385, the bureau of labor shall formulate
the regulations governing the agencies, and shall fix the rates to be charged.
These rates shall not be increased nor diminished within a year.
Payment in advance
Art. 7. In the absence of an agreement to the contrary, the compensation
of the agent may be paid by the employer or contractor and charged to the
salary of the person employed, but only with the consent of the employee,
declared at the time of the engagement
Fraudulent notices
Art. 8. No employment agent shall publish, inside or outside of his premises,
or in any manner, notices of applications for and offers of employment which
have not been made to him, or carry out any action for this purpose or special
order or authorization of the interested parties, workers, or employers.
Inspection of books
Art. 9. The bureau of labor shall periodically inspect the books of private
agencies. At the end of each month private agencies shall submit a summary
of the movement. Such data, accurately compiled, shall be submitted to the
ministry of public works and published as statistics of the labor market of the
Province.
Liability of agents
Art. 10. The owners, directors, or managers of private employment agencies
are liable in cases in which a patron has been influenced wrongly or suffered
injuries from false information, fraudulent conduct, or other dishonest pro
cedure in the employment contract. The right of such patron to demand this
indemnification shall expire 90 days after the contract is made.
Art. 11. Every owner, director, or manager of a private employment agency
convicted of having taken advantage of a patron by means of false information,
fraudulent promises, or other dishonest procedure, shall be tried in accordance
M X T OF LABOR LEGISLATION
69
with the principles of section 2, book 2, of the Civil Code, without prejudice to
the indemnification referred to in the preceding article.
Art. 12. Persons who, in cooperation with the owners, directors, or managers
of a private employment agency, influence the patrons thereof wrongly or
injure them by false information, fraudulent conduct, or other dishonest pro
cedure relative to the position offered and its duration shall incur the same
penalties.
Repetition of the offense
Art. 13. In case of repetition of the offense the ministry of public works shall
revoke the license of the transgressing agency.
Art. 14. A copy of these regulations shall be posted in a place visible and
accessible to the public, in all private employment agencies of the Province.
RETIREMENT ANNUITIES AND PENSIONS
CIVIL EMPLOYEES
LAW NO. 4349 OF SEPTEMBER '20, 1904 (AS AMENDED BY LAWS NOS.
4870, 5143, 6007, 7497, AND 11027)
Article 1. A National Fund for Retirement Annuities and Pensions for the
officials, employees, and civil agents referred to in article 2 is hereby created.
It is declared that the funds and income of this fund are the property of the
persons included under the provisions of this law and from them shall be
paid the retirement annuities provided for in Laws Nos. 1909, 2219, and 3741
and the retirement annuities and pensions which are granted hereafter in
conformity with this law.
Art. 2 (as amended by Law No. 4870, arts. 1-3, and Law No. 6007, art. 2).
The following are included under the provisions of this law:
(1) Civil officials, employees, and agents who fill positions in the adminis
tration.
(2) Directors, employees, and other personnel of the National Council of
Education, to which Law No. 1909 refers.
(3) Employees of the Bank of the Nation (Banco de la Nacidn) of the
National Mortgage Bank, and the National Bank of Liquidation (Banco Na
tional en Liquidation).
(4) Present annuitants, for the purposes of chapter 4.
(5) Judicial magistrates, cabinet secretaries, and those filling elective offices
who may come under the law, provided that those belonging to the last two
classes have rendered 20 years of the services to which paragraph 1 of this
article refers.
(6) The personnel of the State railroads.
(7) The personnel of the National Fund for Retirement Annuities and Pen
sions.
(8) Employees of the office of the recorder of deeds in the capital may be
granted the benefits of Law No. 4349, provided they pay into the national fund
for pensions a sum equivalent to a deduction of 5 per cent of the salaries
which they have earned from the date of their appointment, with the current
rate of interest.
(9) The members of the Consular Service who become national employees by
virtue of a law of Congress and an executive decree may be granted the bene
fits which Law No. 4349 grants to national employees, computing the services
rendered prior to this date, provided that in addition to the deductions pro
vided for above they shall subscribe to the additional deduction to which
article 62 of this law refers, which shall be calculated on the salary received
and for the time between January 1, 1901, and the date of their coming under
the administration. The annuities in these cases shall be determined by com
puting each gold peso of the salary as 1 peso of national currency.
Art. 3. This law shall not apply to the remuneration following:
(1) That of persons referred to in paragraph 5 of article 2 when they
are not covered by this law.
(2) That paid for services which are contracted for under special authori
zation, on account of exceptional qualifications of the persons, except those
who have contributed, from the time they entered the service to the resources
of the fund the deduction referred to in paragraph 1 of article 4.
70
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
(3) That of workers employed by the day on public works or in industrial
shops of the Nation, except those who have permanent positions and contribute
the said deduction.
(4) [Repealed by art. 4 of Law No. 4870.]
(5) That of casual workers or workers engaged for a fixed period of time.
C hapter 1— The mtional fund
Art. 4 (as amended by Law No. 4870, art. 5). The resources of the national
fund shall be made up from the following:
(1) A compulsory deduction of 5 per cent of the salaries of the persons
covered by article 2.
(2) The amount of one-half of the first month’s salary of a new employee of
the administration or of a former employee who is reinstated, provided he has
not previously paid this deduction.
(3) The difference in the first month’s full salary in the following cases:
(а) When any of the persons covered by the law receive an increase in salary;
(б) when they are given a more remunerative position; (e ) when they fill
more than one position; (d) when they come back into the service in a more
remunerative position than the last one held, provided the deduction of half of
the salary was contributed previously.
(4) The amount of cash fines imposed by the administration on the personnel
or on outsiders.
(5) Interest on the public funds and income from other property acquired
by the fund.
(6) The amount of the salaries of vacant positions unless the executive
authority declares by special decree that the posts are not filled for reasons of
economy.
(7) Gifts and legacies which are received.
(8) The income of 10,000,000 pesos in public funds at 6 per cent interest,
which the Nation contributes.
(9) The amount of the funds accumulated by the National Education
Council under Laws Nos. 1420 and 1909, which is being paid into the treasury.
Art. 5. The national fund shall be administered by a board composed of
an administrative president, appointed by the executive authority with the
approval of the Senate, who shall serve four years and may be reelected; and
two directors, who shall be the head of the National Accounting Office and
the head of the Public Credit Ofiiee.
A rt. 6. A t the request o f the administrative board, the administrative
president o f the national fund may, because o f malfeasance in office, be
removed before the end o f his term o f office by the executive authority w ith
the concurrence o f the Ministers.
Art. 7. If the board is without a president the head of the National Ac
counting Office shall perform his duties.
Art. 8. The board referred to in article 5 shall be required especially:
(1) To see that the provisions of this law providing for the granting of
pensions and retirement annuities are faithfully observed.
(2) To see that no person who has lost his right to receive the pension
continues to receive it.
(3) To render a quarterly report of its operations to the National General
Accounting Office and to publish such report every three months.
(4) To submit to the Ministry of the Treasury at the end of each fiscal year
a full report of the condition of the fund, specifying the difficulties which have
been encountered and proposing any modifications of the law shown by experi
ence to be necessary, especially those referring to the apportionment of the
accumulated resources among the expenses which have occurred or which it
is believed will occur, always on the basis that the resources created by this
law must by themselves be sufficient to carry out its purposes.
(5) To make its own rules and regulations, submitting them to the execu
tive authority for his approval.
Art. 9. The board of the national fund shall receive the resources specified
in article 4, pay the retirement annuities and pensions to which this law
refers, draw up its budget of expenses, which must be approved by the
executive authority, and have charge of the resources of the fund; and shall
appoint and discharge the personnel at will.
Art. 10. In no instance may any part of the resources of the fund be used
for purposes other than those mentioned in this law, under the personal lia
TEXT OF LABOB LEGISLATION
71
bility of the directors, to be made good with their own property on the order
of the executive authority or at the request of any of the persons referred
to in article 2.
Aet. 11. The fund shall not accumulate sums in cash which are not required
for current expenses or a prudent reserve. All cash deposits shall be put
in the Bank of the Nation.
Art. 12 (as amended by Law No. 6007, art. 1). Without prejudice to
preceding provisions, the resources of the fund shall be invested in national
bonds, or other bonds which have a subsidiary guaranty by the Nation, in such
a way as to produce the highest interest and the most frequent capitalization
possible.17
A r t . 13. The acquisition or transfer of national bonds shall be by bid,
unless the board unanimously decides, in special cases, to proceed in a different
manner.
Abt. 14. The amounts which, under article 4, form the resources of the
national fund shall be set aside each month by the national funds which pay
or liquidate salaries, and paid without delay on the first.
A r t . 15. The property of the national fund established by this law may not
be attached.
C hapter 2.—Annuities
A r t . 16. The national civil officials, employees, or agents referred to in
article 2 shall be entitled to an annuity according to the provisions of this law.
Art. 17 (as amended by Law No. 6007, art. 1). The annuity is ordinary or
special. The ordinary annuity is equivalent to 3Vq per cent of the last salary
multiplied by the years of service of the person receiving the annuity. The
special annuity is equivalent to 2.40 per cent of the last salary, also multiplied
by the years of service of the annuitant.
Art. 18 (as amended by Law No. 6007, art. 1). The ordinary annuity is
granted to the employee who has rendered 30 years* service.
Art. 19 (as amended by Law No. 4870, art. 7). The special annuity is granted
to the employee who, after 20 years’ service, is declared physically or mentally
unable to continue in his employment, and to one who, regardless of his length
of service, has been physically or mentally incapacitated while in the service
and from a cause obviously and exclusively imputable to the work.
Art. 20 (as amended by Law No. 6007, art. 1). For the purposes of the
annuity, only the actual services rendered during the number of years required
by the law shall be computed, even when they are not continuous; in no case
may the interruptions be computed as services rendered.
A rt. 21. For the employees of the Bank of the Nation (Banco de la Nacidn)
or the National Mortgage Bank, the services that they have rendered in the
National Bank (Banco National), in liquidation at the present time, shall be
computed.
Art. 22 (as amended by Law No. 5143, art. 2, and Law No. 6007, art. 3).
Only those who have obtained ordinary annuities shall be able to return to the
service. In such case the annuitant shall cease receiving his annuity and shall
receive only the salary assigned to the new position. When he resigns from
the new position, he shall again receive the annuity and will not be entitled to
have it increased. If he is called on to perform temporary public services, he
can not collect any remuneration from the Government.
These prohibitions do not include Provincial or municipal positions nor
national elective offices which may be filled by the annuitants without losing the
annuity.
The annuity obtained on account of services in the magistracy or in the
administration does not disqualify a person from holding a position as a
professor, Subject to a deduction of 5 per cent, but without entitling the
annuitant to any increase in his annuity.
A r t . 23. Ih fliiag the amount of the special annuity for persons referred to
in the last part of article 19, service of less than 15 years shall not be computed.
A r t . 24 (repealed by article 1 of Law No. 6007).
Art. 25 (as amended by Law No. 11260, art. 21). For the purposes of the
annuity it is hereby declared that last salary shall mean the average monthly
17 Law No. 9511 of Oct. 2, 1914 (see p. 30), provides that up to 50 per cent of the
capital of the fund may be used in advances to employees, bearing interest and to be
repaid in monthly payments.
72
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
salary which the interested party may have received during the last 5 years
of service.
A rt. 26. Services rendered before the party reaches 18 years of age shall not
be computed except for those who have had the 5 per cent deducted from their
salaries from the time they entered the service.
Art. 27 (as amended by Law No. 6007, art. 1). Employees who are dismissed
for reasons of economy or whose services are no longer needed, and those who
lose their positions through reorganization of the administrative system, or
on account of eliminations made in the annual budgets or in special laws, who
desire to retire from the national fund for retirement annuities and pensions
shall have the right, after 10 years* service, to claim the return of the 5 per
cent deductions from their salaries, with 5 per cent interest compounded each
year.
All employees who perform services for the administration, regardless of
their character, shall have the deductions made from their salaries provided for
in the annuity and pension laws.
A rt . 28. No pension may exceed 95 per cent of the last salary received.
Art. 29. Application for the annuity must be made, under penalty of nullity,
to the administrative board, which after considering all the proceedings shall
grant it or not, transmitting its decision through the proper ministry to
the Executive Authority for its approval.
A rt. 30. If the application is for the special annuity, the administrative
board, without prejudice to investigations which are deemed to be according
to law, shall apply to the National Department of Health for a report on the
alleged causes of physical or mental incapacity.
A rt. 31 (as amended by Law No. 4870, arts. 9, 10, 16; Law No. 5143, art. 1;
Law No. 6007, art. 3; Law No. 7197, art. 1). The right granted in article 18 of
Law. No. 4349 may be exercised by the members of the judicial administration
after 25 years’ service therein and reaching 55 years of age; by teachers of
primary education, after 25 years’ service therein and reaching 45 years of
age; by mail and telegraph employees under the same conditions; by safety
police employees, petty officers, and men, by employees in penitentiaries and
jails and police wardens, and by fire chiefs and officials and firemen, after 25
years’ service and reaching 45 years of age.
In these cases the annuity shall be 95 per cent of the average monthly
salary for the last 12 months.®
The employees enumerated in the preceding article may exercise the righr
granted in the first part of article 19 of Law No. 4349 after 17 years’ service.
In this case the annuity shall be equivalent to 3 per cent of the last salary
multiplied by the number of years of service.
Employees in the administrative offices of the police are excepted from the
benefits accorded in this and the preceding article.
The employees enumerated in the classes specified in [paragraph 1 of this
article] who may have been retired in accordance with Law No. 4349 shall
have the advantages provided in said article.
If the services rendered by the said officials and employees fall short of the
number of years fixed by this article and the person seeking the annuity has
previously rendered other services in the general ranks, both services shall
be computed in the proper proportions, even though the time of each of them,
considered separately, does not reach the minimum required for an annuity.
Art. 32. With the exception of officials who can not be removed, the Execu
tive Authority may officially grant the annuity to those who meet the condi
tions in the preceding articles when the good of the public service demands
it. In this case the decision shall be rendered, on the intervention of the
administrative board, after a hearing of the interested party and with the
concurrence of the ministers.
Art. 33. In computing services, fractions of years shall be considered full
years if they are more than 6 months; if less, they shall not be computed.
Art. 34. The annuities granted up to the promulgation o f the present law
by virtue of the provisions in Laws Nos. 1909, 2219, and 3744 shall be paid in
the future by the national fund with a reduction of 10 per cent on their
present value.
Art. 35. When an employee has held two or more positions at the same time,
the annuity shall be granted on the highest salary without adding the time or
the salary of the others. The case of professors ( empleados del profesorado)
• Amended by Law No. 11260; see a rt 25 of this law.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
73
is excepted, as their salaries can be added, on the condition that at least the
deduction of 5 per cent has been paid for five years in all the professorships
held.
A rt. 36. The annuities shall be paid from the day on which the interested
party leaves the service.
C hapter 3.—Loss of annuity
Art. 37. The following are not entitled to be retired:
(1) One who has been discharged from the service for inefficiency in the
performance of his duties;
(2) One who has been convicted by a judicial sentence of any of the crimes
classified in the Penal Code as “ peculiar to public employees ” and in general
for crimes against property or for any other crime the penalty of which is
confinement in a penitentiary or punishment by hard labor;
(3) One who does not apply for an annuity within five years from the date on
which he left the service.
A rt. 38. The annuity is fo r life and the right to receive it is lost only for
the causes stated in paragraph 2 o f the preceding article.
A rt. 39. Commutation of the sentence or a pardon shall not restore the
rights lost, as specified in articles 37 and 38, if the penalty has been imposed for
crimes against property or those peculiar to public employees.
A rt. 40. One who is a defendant in a pending criminal action may n 't claim
his annuity, provided such action arises from any of the crimes specified in
paragraph 2 of article 37. The interested party must allege prior thereto the
definite termination of the criminal action.
C hapter 4.—Pensions
Art. 41 (as amended by Law No. 4870, art. 13). In the cases in which,
under the provisions of this law, persons are entitled to receive annuities and
the employee or annuitant dies, the widow, the children, or if there are none,
the parents, of the deceased are entitled to request a pension in the proportion
and under the conditions provided by this chapter.
When the annuitant dies, the persons specified in the preceding paragraph
shall be entitled to a pension under the conditions laid down in the following
articles without any other proceeding than that of proving the existence of the
annuity and that it was granted subject to the laws relating thereto.
A rt. 42. The right to receive the pension among the said persons shall be in
the following order: (1) To the widow concurrently with the children; (2) to
the children only; (3) to the widow concurrently with the parents; (4) to
the widow; (5) to the parents.
Illegitimate children shall receive that part of the pension to which they
are entitled under the common law.
A rt. 43. The amount of the pension shall be half of the amount of the annuity
which the deceased received or to which he was entitled.
A rt . 44. If the widow of the employee is found to have been divorced for
her fault or was living apart from the deceased without wishing to be recon
ciled, or is temporarily separated, because of her fault, on the request of the
husband, she shall not be entitled to a pension; but it shall go to the other per
sons named by this law to receive it, as if no widow survived.
Art. 45. Whenever there are several persons entitled to receive the pension
if any of them lose their right thereto the part which would have come to
them shall be given to the others.
A rt. 46. If upon the death of a person entitled to an annuity, orphan
children of different marriages are left, the pension shall be divided equally
among them, being delivered to their legal representatives.
Art. 47. To receive the pension the widow who has not had children while
married to the deceased must prove that she has been married to the annuitant
five years before his death, except where there are legitimated children or
in the case provided for in the last part of article 19. In such case it is suf
ficient that the marriage was performed before the said incapacity.
A rt. 48. The maximum duration of the pensions shall be 15 years from
the date of death of the retired employee, from which time it must be credited.
A rt. 49. Two or more pensions can not be given to the same person. The
interested party may choose the one he desires, and, having made the choice,
must relinquish the right to the others.
74
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Abt. 50. All applications for pensions shall be presented, under penalty of
nullity, to the administrative board, accompanied by the necessary evidence
to prove that the petitioner comes under the conditions of the law. On the
information in the application, the board shall either grant it or not, and
send it with the report to the executive authority for his final decision.
Art. 51. The persons mentioned in article 42 shall be entitled to the amount
of the last month’s salary of the employee who died without being entitled
to an annuity for every four years which he may have contributed to the
reseources of the national fund.
Extinction of the pension
A r t. 52. The right to an annuity is extinguished: (1) For the widow, when
she remarries; (2) for the sons, when they become 20 years of age; (3) for the
single daughters, when they marry; (4) in general, for leading an immoral
life, vagrancy, living in a foreign country, or having been convicted of a
crime against property or one involving a sentence to hard labor or the
penitentiary.
General provisions
Art. 53. The pensions granted up to the date of this law will continue to
be paid under the law of the general budget, reduced 10 per cent in their value.
Art. 54. [Repealed by article 18 of Law No. 4870.]
Art. 55. Annuities and pensions are inalienable. Any sale or transfer thereof
for any cause shall be void.
The judges alone may decree an attachment of one-fourth of them; but if
a pension belongs to several persons, only one-fourth of that received by the
debtor may be attached.
Art. 56. The evidence necessary to prove the right to receive an annuity or
a pension shall be the same as that required by the common laws for the
acquisition of rights.
Art. 57. In a case in which the board of the national fund has not granted
an annuity or pension the executive authority, after hearing the solicitor
of the Nation, shall decide the case, with the concurrence of the ministers.
Art. 58. For the purposes of this law the services rendered for municipali
ties or in the Provincial administrations shall not be computed nor shall services
performed in the army when they are recompensed with military retirement.
Art. 59. The executive authority may suspend the granting of new annui
ties and pensions for the time deemed necessary when the resources of the
national fund are not sufficient to take care of them, giving immediate notice
to Congress and promoting the revision of this law.
Art. 60. This law shall be effective from its promulgation and upon the
executive authority issuing regulations thereunder, as soon as advisable, in
order that the national fund created herein function immediately.
RAILROAD EMPLOYEES
LAW 10650 OF APRIL 30, 1919 (AS AMENDED BT LAWS NOS. 11074,
11173, AND 11308)
Chapter 1.—Object and beneficiaries of the law.
Article 1. There is hereby created the national fund for retirement annui
ties and pensions of railroad employees, which is subject to the provisions
of this law.
Art. 2 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. a). The provisions
of this law cover permanent employees and workers: Of railroads under
national jurisdiction, including State railroads, with the reservation in
article 52 of this law; of port and warehouse enterprises of the Republic
which have railways on their property, whatever their function; of the cen
tral fruit market; of cable railway enterprises; of the fund created by this
law ; and the physicians, dentists, and other employees of mutual aid societies
connected with the enterprises and to whose support the latter contribute or
have contributed, and who render or have rendered services to the same.
The provisions of this law also cover the employees of confectioners’ shops,
whether the latter are carried on directly by the railway enterprises or by
third parties, and the employees of the railroad information bureaus.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
75
The board of directors of the fund shall in all cases compute the services
prior to the operation of the present law, and this shall apply equally to all
enterprises organized in the future, whether by the Government or by enter
prises of private capital.
Art. 3. The provisions of this law do not include employees and workers
who perform casual services or those of a transitory nature.
For the purposes of law a permanent employee is considered to be one who
has had more than six months of continuous service in an enterprise.
Chapter 2.—Management of the fund
A rt. 4 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. &)• The administration
of the fund created by this law shall be in charge of a board of directors,
consisting of a chairman appointed by the executive authority with the con
sent of the Senate, four representatives of the enterprises and four of the
personnel, and an equal number of alternates for both parties.
For the election of their representatives the number of votes each of the
enterprises shall have shall be in proportion to the total wages and salaries
it paid during the year immediately preceding.
The representatives of the personnel shall be elected by secret ballot in an
assembly of delegates which shall meet in the Federal Capital. The delegates
shall be elected by simple plurality and by secret ballot in district meetings
in the electoral districts established in the regulations, the enterprises not
being allowed to interfere in such proceedings.
The number of delegates to be elected in each district shall be in propor
tion to the number of members of the fund in the same, and each delegate
shall have in the assembly the number of votes equal to that with which he
was elected.
The executive authority shall regulate the election proceedings and the
election returns in accordance with these principles and shall supervise the
first election through the agency of the National Department of Labor and the
general inspection bureau of the Department of Justice (Impeccion General de
Justicia) the direction of the later elections being in charge of the fund with
the assistance of said bureau of inspection.
Art. 5 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. c). The representatives
appointed as members of the board of directors of the fund shall belong to
different railway enterprises.
The term of office of the representatives shall be four years, half of them
being replaced every two years. The term of office of the chairman shall be
for the same time, but he can be reelected. The chairman and directors
shall receive the salaries fixed by the budget of the fund, which can not be
added to the wages or salary which at the present time a representative
receives.
Increases in salaries can not be taken advantage of by the members of the
board of directors authorizing them. Enterprises shall reserve for the repre
sentatives elected by the personnel the positions held by them at the time of
their election. These representatives shall be considered under the law as
employees of the fund during the time they serve as representatives. Mem
bers of the board of directors must be citizens of Argentina and at least 25
years of age. Minors under 18 years of age and employees with less than 2
years’ continuous service can not be electors.
Art. 6. The chairman shall have a voice and a vote in the deliberations of
the board of directors, his vote prevailing in case of a tie. He executes the
decisions of the board of directors and is its legal representative. The em
ployees of the fund shall be under his immediate orders, but their appointment
and dismissal shall be by the board of directors.
Art. 7. In the absence of the chairman of the fund for retirement annuities
and pensions of railroad employees, the board of directors shall be presided
over by the chairman of the fund for civil retirement annuities and pensions.
Art. 8 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. d). The board of directors
shall be governed by rules and regulations of its own making, and it shall
fix annually its budget of expenditures, which shall not exceed 3 per cent of
the receipts from contributions and interest, and that of the sum of the retire
ment annuities and pensions which must be paid during the year from the
resources of the fund, which it shall submit to the executive authority for
approval. When the calculated resources are not sufficient to cover the total
amount of the retirement annuities and pensions which must be paid during
76
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
the year, the Government shall contribute the difference. The National Gen
eral Accounting Office shall audit all the operations of the fund
C h a p te r
3.—Resources of the fund
Art. 9 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. f ). The resources of the
fund shall be composed of the following allotments:
1. The contributions of the personnel collected under Law No. 9653 prior to
the promulgation of this law.
2. The compulsory deduction of 5 per cent of the wages of persons covered
by article 2, whenever they do not exceed 1,000 pesos monthly; in case they
do, the deduction shall be made only on this last amount.
3. The amount of the first month’s salary, payable in 24 successive monthly
installments, of a new employee of a railway enterprise, or one who is re
employed by it, whenever he has not suffered such deduction under this law
or any other with a similar provision.
4. The difference in the first month’s wages when the employee or worker
is promoted to a better paying position or receives an increase of wages.
5. The monthly sum which the railway and other enterprises coming under
the provisions of this law shall give as their sole contribution, equivalent to 8
per cent of the salaries and wages of all the employees and workers, when
ever they do not exceed 1,000 pesos monthly (national currency) ; in case
they do, the contribution shall be paid only on this last amount.
Enterprises shall also make the contribution referred to in this clause for
workers engaged by contractors. The contribution for the personnel of the fund
shall be charged to the same.
With the surplus at the present time accumulated and that which in the
future may arise as the result of an increase in rates authorized by the executive
authority under article 59, after the enterprises have paid the contribution
mentioned in the first clause of paragraph 5 above.
A r t . 10 (as amended by Law No. 11173, art. 1). Railway enterprises whose
personnel come under the benefits of this law are required to make the deduc
tions referred to in paragraphs 2, 3, and 4 of the preceding article and those
required by the loans service authorized in articles 12 and 13 of this law and
the life insurance specified in article 12, from the wages of their personnel and
to deposit them each month, together with the contributions fixed by paragraph
5 of article 9, in cash in the Bank of the Argentine Nation to the order of the
fund, within the first 10 days after the end of each month, without deducting
any amount for any purpose.
A rt. 11. The funds and contributions obtained under this law shall be the
exclusive property of the persons covered by its provisions, and from them shall
be paid the retirement annuities and pensions hereafter granted under said law.
In no case shall they be used for other purposes under the personal liability
of the members of the board of directors, their property being subject to judicial
action therefor.
Art. 12 (as amended by Law No. 11173, art. 1). All the resources of the fund,
except the sums fixed by the board of directors as necessary for current ex
penses, shall be deposited in a special account in the Bank of the Argentine
Nation. Such resources shall be invested, after resolution of the board of
directors in each case, in national income securities or those whose payment
is guaranteed by the Nation, in such a manner that they will produce the highest
possible interest and the most frequent capitalization. Up to 40 per cent of
such resources can be invested in cash-mortgage loans, of not over 20,000 pesos
(national currency), to employees and workers covered by this law who have
had at least 10 years* service, bearing interest not exceeding 1 per cent above
the rate for national income securities, and combined with term life insurance
for the decreasing amount owed. The fund is authorized to organize a special
section for the purpose of drawing up such insurance.
Art. 13 (as amended by Law No. 11173, art. 1). These mortgage loans shall
be governed by Laws Nos. 8172 and 10676, in the conditions for those authorized
by article 2, paragraph 2, letter H, except in the following points:
(а) The fund can make loans up to the total value of the property when
that value does not exceed 6,000 pesos (national currency), up to 90 per cent
when it is 10,000 pesos (national currency) as a maximum, and of 80 per cent
when it exceeds that amount.
(б) The fund can establish differences in the rate of interest, in the amount,
and in the term of the loans, up to a maximum of 30 years, in accordance with
TEXT OF LABOE LEGISLATION
77
scales fixed in proportion to the taxable value of the properties and the amount
of the wages, favoring the development of small homes.
(c) The loans service can not be increased more than 5 per cent for expenses
of administration and execution of deeds.
(d) In the case of death of the employee indebted for the loan, the fund
shall apply the amount of the life insurance to the cancellation of the loan,
interest, and pending expenses.
(e ) In case of the retirement of the employee, the fund shall retain monthly
out of his amount the monthly sum for the loan service and insurance premium.
A rt . 14 (as amended by Law No. 11173, art. 1). The property coming under
this law and also the houses which are the object of the loans specified can not
be attached during the life of the borrower or his wife or minor children. They
can not be transferred, encumbered, rented, or ceded without consent of the
board of directors, until the loan is canceled.
A rt. 15 (as amended by Law No. 11173, art. 1). The property encumbered by
mortgage obligations under this law can be attached only under the conditions
and requirements set forth in laws Nos. 8172 and 10676.
C hapter 4.—Retirement annuities
Art. 15. The employees and workers referred to in article 2 who have con
tributed to the resources of the fund the deductions provided for in article 9,
barring any exceptions determined hereafter, shall be entitled .to the retirement
annuities granted them by this law.
Art. 16. The retirement annuity granted by this law is: 1. Ordinary; 2. For
disability; 3. For voluntary retirement.
A rt. 17 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. g). The amount of the
ordinary retirement annuity shall be calculated on the basis of the average
wages received during the last five years of service and subject to the following
scale:
1. Average wages up to 120 pesos, the amount of the average wages.
2. Average wages between 120 and 300 pesos, 120 pesos, and in addition 80
per cent of the difference between 120 pesos and the average.
3. Average wages between 300 and 1,000 pesos, 264 pesos and in addition 70
per cent of the difference between 300 pesos and the average.
The rental value of the dwellings which enterprises furnish to certain em
ployees or workers, or in place thereof the extra pay given them for that pur
pose, shall be considered an integral part of the wages or salary, for the pur
poses of the deductions and the retirement annuity.
A rt . 18. The ordinary retirement annuity, within the conditions established
in the foregoing article, is : 1. Total: For the employee or worker who, having
rendered at least 30 years’ service, is 50 years of age; 2. Reduced by 25 per
cent: For the employee or worker who, having rendered at least 30 years’
service, is over 45 and under 50 years of age and wishes to retire.
A rt. 19 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. n) . The amount of retire
ment annuity for disability shall be calculated on the basis of the average wages
received during the last five years’ service and subject to the scale of the ordi
nary retirement annuity, at the rate of 10 per cent of the amount of said retire
ment annuity for each year of service up to the maximum.
A rt. 20 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. i). The retirement annuity
for disability, within the conditions established in the preceding article shall be
granted: 1. To the employee or worker who, after five years’ service, is declared
physically or mentally unable to continue in his employment or in any other,
suitable to his usual activity or his proved training; 2. To the employee or
worker who, whatever his length of service, is permanently incapacitated in the
line of duty and from a cause clearly and solely arising out of the service.
A rt . 21 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art 1, par. j). In no case shall a re
tirement annuity for disability be granted to one who applies therefore after six
months from leaving the service of the railway enterprises, except in case of
physical or mental inability so to do.
Art. 22. The retirement annuity for voluntary retirement may be granted the
employee or worker who, being in the service more than 10 years and over 50
years of age, does not have the number of years’ service required by article 18.
This retirement annuity shall be calculated at the rate of 2 per cent of the
ordinary retirement annuity for each year of service.
100691°—30----- 6
78
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Art. 23. Employees or workers who become 50 years of age before they
have liacl 10 years’ service and who wish to retire shall have a right to com
pensation equal to the sums contributed by them to the resources of the fund,
with interest at the rate of 5 per cent, compounded annually. In no case shall
interest be calculated after the date of retirement.
Art. 24 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 2). Employees or workers who
are dismissed because their services are not needed or for reasons of economy
shall have a right to compensation equal to that fixed in the preceding article,
without interest.
When in such case the employee or worker chooses to renounce the com
pensation and later reenters the railway service, he shall have the right for
the purposes of this law to have the services rendered previous to discharge
computed.
Employees and workers covered by Law No. 9653 who have been discharged
because their services were not needed or because of reasons of economy and
whose contributions to the fund were withdrawn prior to the ratification of
this law can receive the benefits of the same whenever they comply with the
conditions for obtaining the retirement annuity within the railway service and
after return at one time of the sums previously withdrawn.
Workers who have been dismissed because of strike agitation can not be
deprived of their right to the return of their contributions or to retirement
annuities.
Art. 25. The rights granted by the two preceding articles will be forfeited
by those who have not expressly asserted them within a period of three years
from the date of their retirement or discharge from the service.
The rights granted by the last paragraph of the pr^eding article shall be
forfeited by them two years after the promulgation of this law.
Art. 26. For the purposes of the retirement annuity there shall be taken
into account only the actual services, even though not continuous, during the
number of years required.
When the remuneration for work has been totally or partially by day wages,
one year of service shall be computed for every 250 days of actual work, and
if it has been by the hour, the number of hours shall be divided by eight to
establish the number of days of actual work.
Art. 27. In the total period of seniority 'fttry fraction which exceeds six months
shall be computed as one entire year.
Art. 28 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. fc). The retirement annu
ities for disability shall be final when the disability is of that character. In
other cases the beneficiaries shall be subject to any revisions which in the
number of two annually as a maximum the board of directors of the fund may
order within the five years following the granting of the annuities, after which
date they shall be considered as final.
Art. 29. No retirement annuity for disability shall be granted without a
previous report from the National Department of Health, or the physician or
physicians designated for the purpose by the board of directors, with respect
to the causes of the alleged physical or mental disability. Aside from this, the
board of directors shall order any investigations it may deem necessary.
Art. 30. Only those receiving the ordinary retirement annuity can return to
the railway service. In such case the retirant shall cease to receive the retire
ment annuity and receive only the wages in the new position. On abandoning
the latter, he shall again receive the retirement annuity without being able to
make any demand for an increase therein. Therefore, as to the new position,
the contributions provided for in article 9 shall not be demanded of him.
Art. 31. A party retired for disability whose services are utilized in some
other employment is excepted from the provision in the foregoing article; in
such case he shall receive, besides the wages, that fraction of the retirement
annuity for disability granted by the board of directors which corresponds to
the diminution suffered in his capacity for work. When the years of service
necessary for obtaining the ordinary retirement annuity are reached, he shall be
granted a final retirement annuity equal to the amount of the ordinary annuity
corresponding to the wages of the new employment, besides the fraction of the
retirement annuity for disability which he has received.
Art. 32 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. I). Retirement annuities
pensions, return of contributions, and other benefits accorded by this law shall be
granted by the board of directors of the fund, to which application must be
made.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
79
Retirement annuities, when granted, shall be paid from the day on which the
interested party leaves the service. In case of dissent by the interested party,
the decision of the board of directors shall be appealable by the same within
90 days after official notification thereof, in order that the Federal chamber
(Camara Federal) of the capital, hearing the appellant and the representative
of the fund, may render a decision, without further recourse, based on certified
copies of the administrative papers and any other data which it may request
for its better information.
A r t . 33. Employees or workers having no family to support who have com
plied with the conditions entitling them to the right to retirement annuities,
and who before receiving them were dismissed because of incompetency on
excessive use of alcoholic beverages during the performance of their duties,
or were convicted of a crime carrying a prison or penitentiary penalty, shall
not be granted an annuity, but the amount of the deductions from their wages
shall be returned to them, provided there is no occasion for applying it to civil
indemnification for the damage done.
In case there is a family to support, the amount of the deductions from his
wages shall not be returned to the convicted party, but the persons having a
right to them under this law shall receive the pension corresponding to the
retirement annuity forfeited.
In each case in which circumstances of dereliction are alleged, they must be
proved in the proceedings before the board of directors of the fund, in accord
ance with the regulations which the executive authority shall issue for the
purpose.
A rt. 34. The right to apply for the retirement annuity expires five years
after the date of leaving the service.
A rt. 35 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. m.) The retirement annuity
is for life and the right to receive it is lost only for the causes expressed in this
law. The annuitant shall forfeit all right to the retirement annuity if he
locates in a foreign country, without obtaining previous authorization from the
national executive authority.
A rt. 36. Commutation or pardon shall not restore rights lost as a consequence
of the provisions of this law.
A rt. 37. One having a criminal action pending against him can not claim his
retirement annuity, when the charge in the case involves a prison or penitentiary
penalty or a crime against property.
C hapter 5.—Pensions
A rt. 38 (as amended by Law No. 11074, art. 1, par. b). In cases in which
under this law there exists a right to a retirement annuity and the death of
the employee or worker occurs, the following shall have the right to apply for
a pension in the proportion and on the conditions specified in this chapter:
The widow, the invalid widower, the children, or in their absence the parents,
and in case there are none of the latter, the unmarried sisters of the deceased
up to the age of 22 years, and those older if they are unable to work.
If the deceased had received his retirement annuity, the persons enumerated
in the preceding paragraph shall have a right to pension under the conditions
specified in the following articles without other formality than that of proving
their identity, showing the existence of the retirement annuity under this law.
and observing the requirements thereof.
In like manner the aforementioned persons shall have a right to pension if
the deceased died in the exercise of his duty and had been in the service over
10 years.
For the purposes of article 40, it shall be understood that the retirement annu
ity to which the deceased would have had a right is the retirement annuity for
disability.
Ajrt. 89. The pension for the persons mentioned in the foregoing article shall
be effective from the day of the death of the deceased and shall be granted
in the following manner and order: (1) To the widow or widower incapaci
tated for work concurrently with the children; (2) to the children only; (3)
to the widow concurrently with the parents of deceased, whenever the latter
were entirely dependent on the former; (4) to the parents in the circumstances
expressed in the preceding clause; (5) to the unmarried sisters of the deceased
who were dependent on him.
Natural children recognized or declared to be such by judicial decree shall
receive that part of the pension to which they have a right under civil law.
80
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Art. 40 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. n). The amount of the
pension shall be equivalent to 50 per cent of the full retirement annuity which
the deceased was receiving or had a right to receive; the minimum pension
corresponding to an ordinary retirement annuity or a disability annuity shall
be 100 pesos. Half of the pension shall go to the widow if she shares con
currently with the children or the parents of the deceased; the other half shall
be distributed “ per capita ” among the latter. When there are no parents or
children, the entire pension shall go to the widow.
In the cases specified in clauses 1 and 2 of article 39, if the right to the
pension of some of the persons mentioned in them is extinguished, their part
shall accrue successively to the children or surviving spouse coming under the
benefits of this law.
Art. 41. If the wife of the employee, left a widow, has been divorced for her
fault or has been actually separated without desire to be reconciled, she shall
have no right to pension, and the latter shall pass to the persons who under this
law have a right thereto.
Art. 42. If on the death of the employee there survive orphan children of
different marriages, the pension shall be distributed in the proportion corre
sponding to the same and shall be paid to their respective legal representatives.
Art. 43. The pension is for life, and the right to receive it is lost only for the
causes fixed in this law for the loss of the retirement annuity.
Art. 44. Two or more pensions or retirement annuities shall not be paid to
the same person. The party concerned must choose the one which suits him,
and after the choice is made the right to the other is extinguished.
Art. 45 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. o). Retirement annuities
and pensions shall be granted by the board of directors of the fund, to which
application therefor must be made, accompanied by the necessary proof that
the applicant comes within the terms of this law.
The record of the proceedings shall be made on ordinary paper and the board
of directors shall definitely grant or reject the petition, its decisions being
appealable, as provided by article 32.
The administration of the fund can appoint agents in the most important
railway centers: (a) In all the proceedings initiated by interested parties whose
domicile is within the district fixed for each of the agencies, to receive petitions,
to conduct the proceedings up to the time of the decision by the board of direc
tors, and to publish the decisions of the latter; (b) to give orally or in writing
all the data solicited for the purposes of the proceedings or the recognition of
the rights granted by the retirement laws.
Art. 46. The persons enumerated in article 38 shall have a right to compensa
tion equai to 5 per cent of the sums received as wages by the deceased employee
or worker who left no right to a pension.
Art. 47 (amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. p). The right to the pension
is extinguished: (1) For the widow and widower or mother, when he or she
marries again; (2) for the sons, when they become 18 years of age, except
in case of physical disability for work; (3) for the single daughters or sisters,
when they marry; (4) in general, for dissolute life or vagrancy, or for locating
in a foreign country without previous permission of Congress.
Chapter 6.—Special provisions
Art. 48. Employees or workers having a right to retirement annuity, but who,
on account of having rendered services previous to the date on which the
compulsory deductions referred to in paragraph 1, article 9, of this law were
ordered, or for any other reason, have not contributed to the resources of the
fund 5 per cent of all the wages received during the number of years specified
in order to be entitled to receive their benefits, shall suffer a deduction of 10
per cent in their retirement annuities until there is returned to the resources
of the fund a sum equal to 5 per cent of the wages received.
For this purpose the board of directors, on granting the retirement annuities,
shall state the amount owed, and shall proceed the same with pensions.
Art. 49 (as amended by Law No. 11074, art. 1, par. d). Employees and
workers who, prior to the operation of this law and after January 1,1913, have
been dismissed for causes not specified in this law shall have a right to the
benefits which it grants, with a 10 per cent deduction.
On the same conditions the persons referred to in article 38 can obtain a
pension, as well as when the employee entitled to an annuity died after January
1, 1913, and before promulgation of this law.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
81
This provision includes the case of a pension granted on account of the
death, while in the performance of his work, of an employee entitled to an
annuity.
A r t s . 50 and 51 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. g). The national
fund for retirement annuities and pensions for railway employees shall compute
the services rendered in other services whenever they have been recognized by
the respective funds. The other funds shall compute the railway services and
in the retirement annuities and pensions granted for mixed services, each fund
shall contribute the corresponding proportional part.
For the purposes of this article the fund shall grant the retirement annuity
or pension in accordance with its law, and the other funds shall reimburse said
proportional parts. In all cases the computation shall be made without deduc
tion of time.
A rt. 52 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. r). Federal employees
and workers subject to the system of Law No. 4349, who are included under
the provisions of Law No. 10650, and who at the time of ratification of the
latter law were rendering service, shall be considered to choose the benefits of
the latter if within a period of six months they do not expressly declare in
writing before the general railway administration their choice of the former. The
railway administration referred to shall proceed within three months following
the expiration of the period fixed by the preceding article [sentence]:
1. To send to the fund for [civil] retirement annuities and to the railway
fund a list of the employees or workers who are subject to the one or the other
system.
2. To deposit to the order of the fund for retirement annuities and pensions
of railroad employees the amount for the employees and workers put under the
system of Law No. 10650, specified in article 9, paragraph 5, of the same.
The national fund for civil retirement annuities and pensions shall transfer
to the railway fund within 90 days from the communication specified in para
graph 1 of this article the contributions of the personnel which under said
paragraph 1 is subject to the system of the latter.
Art. 53. Retirement annuities and pensions may not be attached and are
inalienable. Any sale, cession, or setting up of rights which becomes a charge
thereon and which impedes the free disposal of the same by the holder of the
title shall be null.
Art. 54. Railway enterprises shall be required to furnish the board of direc
tors of the fund all the information it may request concerning the personnel
and to permit any verification it may deem necessary, under warning and
penalty of a fine varying from 500 to 2,000 pesos.
Art. 55. Railway enterprises which do not deposit, in the time and manner
provided by article 10 of this law, the sums required of them by this law, after
notice by the chairman of the board of directors of the fund, shall incur a fine
of 1,000 pesos for each day of delay up to the amount of the deposit, with 7 per
cent interest from the first day of delay.
The chairman of the board of directors shall have sufficient authority to
institute before the executive authority or the courts of justice, by means of
writ of execution, the proper actions to make effective the obligations and pen
alties of this law.
The resolutions of the board of directors entered in the book of minutes and
approved consitute a public document.
Art. 56. The benefits and obligations of this law may be extended to em
ployees and workers of railway enterprises under Provincial jurisdiction whose
representatives request it through their local governments, whenever the enter
prises, the employees, and said governments make the contributions and comply
with the conditions fixed in this law.
Art. 57. The board of directors of the fund shall issue regulations under this
law and shall submit such regulations to the executive authority for approval.
Art. 58 The granting of benefits under this law shall commence three months
after its promulgation.
Art. 59 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 1, par. s.) For the purposes of the
contribution by enterprises, the latter are authorized to increase their rates in
the proportion necessary to meet their contributions, opening a special account,
the movement of which they shall annually report to the general railway ad
ministration, which shall examine and adjust it for the purposes of article 53
of this law.
Railway enterprises not governed by articles 8 and 9 of Law No. 5315 and
having a different system of rates from that established in said law, may also
82
LABOU LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA.
increase them up to the limit authorized by the same, thus subjecting themselves
to the provisions of the articles mentioned.
At the end of each fiscal year the surplus in the special account shall be
turned over to the fund to form part of the resources of the same, according to
the provisions in article 9.
Art. 60. The fund shall make a census of the employees covered by this law
and a mathematical study on actuarial bases within the first three years of its
functioning, the results of which it shall report to the executive authority,
proposing any modifications it may deem necessary.
A r t . 61. A ll provisions of other laws contrary to those of this law are
revoked.
Art. 62 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 3). The first election of tlie
directors under this law shall take place not later than three months after its
ratification, the term of office of all the members of the present board of
directors terminating for this reason.
Art. 63 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 4). Retirement annuities and
pensions decreed before the date of promulgation of this law shall be liquidated
hereafter in accordance with the modifications established herein.
A r t . 64 (as amended by Law No. 11308, art. 5). The board of directors of the
fund is authorized to invest up to .1,000,000 pesos (national currency) in the
acquisition of a site and construction of a building in the Federal capital.
REGULATORY DECREE OF AUGUST 16,1919
A rticle 1. In accordance with the provisions of article 58 of Law No. 10650
the board of directors of the national fund for retirement annuities and pen
sions of railroad employees shall initiate the operations of the same as from
the fifteenth day of August, 1919.
Art. 2. By virtue of the provision of article 2, paragraph 1, of the law, it
is declared that the personnel of the ports of the Republic who are included in
the benefits of the same are those who perform permanent functions inherent in
the work of railroad transportation, even when the enterprises providing such
services are not of that class nor recognized officially.
Art. 3. For the purposes of article 2 of tlie law, railroad enterprises shall,
within the period of 30 days from the date of this decree, send to the fund a
list of the personnel affected by the same, including those covered by paragraph
2 of said article, with the salary of each employee and all other data and
particulars relating thereto which they possess. They shall also communicate
monthly all the changes therein.
Employees and 'workers included under the law shall also send, within the
same period as that fixed for the enterprises, all the data required to fill out the
personal filing card for each, specifying the age, class, nationality, date of
entering the service, occupation, etc.
Art. 4. For the purposes of article 3 of the law, there shall be consid
ered as permanent all employees and workers who render services on the rail
roads, in the ports, etc., to which the same refers, with the following excep
tions :
1. Employees and workers who render services for a period less than six
months;
2. Those who, even when they render services for a longer period than that
mentioned in the preceding paragraph, have done so because of the necessity for
such work through extraordinary or transitory circumstances, obliging the
enterprises eventually to increase the personnel.
In the case of paragraph 2, the enterprise must make known to the employee or
worker that the work which is to be done is merely temporary, and, if possible,
the length of time it will take, reporting also to the fund, in Writing, the num
ber of employees and workers, giving the full name and occupation 6t each.
A r t . 5. In case the office of a director is vacant, the board of directors shall
notify the executive authority and the respective organizations, to the end
that the office may be filled.
In the cases specified in this article the railroad enterprises and the rail
road employees and workers* associations having legal capacity shall report
to the Ministry of Public Works, within the period of 10 days from the date on
which the board of directors has given notice of the vacancy, the name of the
person or persons designated to fill such vacancy or vacancies.
TE X T OF LABOR LEGISLATION
83
A r t . 6. The quorum required for the transaction of business shall be f iv e 18
members and the chairman or their alternates.
The board of directors shall appoint annually one of its members to act in
cases of accidental absence of the chairman as an alternate and to attend
to the daily business of the administration of the fund.
Art. 7. In compliance with article 8 of the law the board of directors
shall, before the fifteenth of December of each year, submit to the executive
authority for approval its budget of expenditures and estimate of the amount of
the retirement annuities and pensions that must be satisfied during the follow
ing year.
A r t . 8. The funds accumulated under Law No. 9653 shall be transferred to
the account of the national fund of retirement annuities and pensions of rail
road employees created by Law No. 10650.
Art. 9. The enterprises referred to in the first paragraph of article 2 of the
law shall deposit the deductions which they are required by said law to make,
in the wages and salaries of their employees and workers, as well as their own
contribution to the resources of the fund.
A rt. 10. For the purposes of the law, by “ wages” shall be understood the
monthly stipend which the employee or worker receives under the budget,
excluding all other sums or things.
When the payment for the work has been entirely or partially by the day, by
“ monthly wages,” for the purposes of the deduction of 5 and 8 per cent, shall
be understood the amount corresponding to 25 days of actual work, and if it
was by the hour or by the job, it shall be calculated on 200 hours divided by 8
to establish the number of actual days’ work.
A rt. 11. Employers and workers who go from one enterprise to another to
work, or from one branch of the national administration to one of the enter
prises included under the law, or vice versa, shall be exempt from the deduc
tions specified in article 9, section 3, provided they have suffered the deduction
fixed for a similar purpose.
In the opposite case they shall suffer the deduction provided by Law No. 10650.
Art. 12. The permanent personnel of the enterprises which during the opera
tion of Law No. 9653 have not suffered the deduction provided for in the same,
whatever the cause may have been, must pay them into the resources of the fund
in the manner and under the conditions which the board of directors may direct.
For the purposes of this article, the enterprises shall send to the board of
directors of the national fund of retirement annuities and pensions of railroad
employees, within the period of 30 days from the date of notice of this decree,
a complete list of the employees and workers who have failed to comply with
the obligations specified in Law No. 9653, giving the full name of each one and
the wages they have earned from the operation of said law up to April 30, 1919.
A r t . 13. From June 1, 1920, the enterprises, in accordance with article 10 of
the law, shall deposit in the Bank of the Argentine Nation, to the order of the
national fund of retirement annuities and pensions of railroad employees, the
sums to which the sixth paragraph of article 9 of said law refers, sending to
the board of directors the corresponding certificate of deposit with an account
sheet showing the origin of the sums to which it refers.
Any sum deposited on account of the provision of the sixth paragraph of
article 9 of the law and which an enterprise was obliged to return by judicial
decree will be reimbursed by the fund to such enterprise.
A r t . 14. The Railroad Administration of the State shall transfer to the fund
of retirement annuities and pensions of railroad employees before the 30th of
August of the current year the amounts of 5 and 8 per cent of the salaries and
wages for the months of May, June, and July of this year of their employees
and workers who choose the benefits of Law No. 10650 under article 52 of the
same.
Hereafter, it shall deposit, with the other enterprises, the 5 and 8 per cent
of the salaries and wages of said employees and workers within the first 10
days of each month.
In similar fashion the executive authority shall dispose of tlie amounts
equivalent to 8 and 5 per cent of the salaries and wages of the employees and
workers of the national divisions who choose the benefits of Law No. 10650.
Art. 15. In the case provided for in article 56 of the law which is here
regulated, the amounts which the workers and the employees, as well as the
18 Changed from 4 to 5 by decree of October 1, 1925.
84
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGEN TIN A
enterprises or governments for whom they work, must make in accordance with
the provision of article 9 will be liquidated from the date of the promulgation
of such law.
Art. 16. In fixing the amount of the retirement annuity that corresponds
to a wage between 100 and 300 pesos (national currency) there shall be added
to the fixed amount of 95 pesos (national currency) 80 per cent of the differ
ence between such wage and the minimum of 100 pesos established in article
17, paragraph 2, of the law.19
The amount of the annuity for a wage between 300 and 1,000 pesos (national
currency) shall be determined by adding to the fixed sum of 255 pesos (national
currency) 70 per cent of the difference between such wage and the minimum of
300 pesos (national currency) established by article 17, paragraph 3, of the
law.19
A r t . 17. For the purposes of the proofs referred to in article 37 of the law,
the executive authority shall request, through the Ministry of Justice, of the
proper judicial authorities of the Federal Capital and the National Territories
that they give notice to the board of directors of the fund of the result of each
charge or accusation that is presented or renewed against the employees or
workers included under this law, as well as of the proceedings against them
growing out of the charge or accusation.
A similar request will be made, through the Ministry of the Interior, of the
governors of the Provinces.
Without prejudice to the above, the board of directors shall request in each
case all the proofs or evidence they deem desirable.
PTJBLIC-SERVICE EMPLOYEES AND WORKMEN
LAW NO. 11110 OF FEBRUARY 11, 1921
Chapter 1.—Object and beneficiaries of the law
Article 1. There is hereby created the national fund for retirement annui
ties, pensions and grants of the permanent personnel of private street-car, tele
phone, telegraph, gas, electricity, and radio-telegraph enterprises organized
under the authority of the National Government or the municipal authority of
the Federal capital, even when such enterprises, because of their nature, extend
beyond the boundaries of the municipality.
The permanent personnel of agencies or branches of these enterprises, even
though for the time being not performing services in common with them and
in whatever part of the Nation the work is being performed, is covered by the
provisions of this law.
Art. 2. The benefits and obligations specified in this law may also be extended
to the employees and workmen of enterprises in Provincial jurisdictions which
are of the same nature as those referred to in article 1, and also waterworks and
sanitary services whose representatives make application therefor through their
governments, provided such enterprises, their employees and workmen, and the
said governments make the payments and comply with the conditions fixed in
this law; but none of the bent fits provided hereby shall be granted them until
three years after this becomes effective.
Art. 3. The provisions of this law cover all permanent employees and work
men of the enterprises referred to in the preceding articles; those who belonged
to the permanent personnel of the same but were dismissed after the 25th of
September, 1918, for reasons other than those enumerated in article 28; the
doctors and employees of recognized aid societies connected with the enterprises;
those of the fund organized by this law; and all the persons referred to in article
32 who are related to permanent employees and workmen who died subsequent
to the date mentioned.
For the purposes of this law, those who have served more than six consec
utive months in an enterprise are regarded as permanent employees or work
men, in addition to those whose occupation has such character.
Employees and workmen who perform services which are casual or of a
transitory nature are not covered by the provisions of this law.
19 The provisions of article 17 of the original law have since been amended (see p. 77).
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
85
Art. 4. For the purposes of this law, the seniority of each employee and
workman is to be reckoned from the day when he began work in any of the
services included therein.
Those who have worked for companies now merged with or acquired by any
of the existing companies or their predecessors are to be accorded seniority
from the day when they began work for the first enterprise.
Art. 5. In the computation of years of service there shall be taken into
account the actual length of service, even if not continuous, of employees
and workmen, no matter in what form they received their salary or in which
of the enterprises referred to in article 1 of this law or which may come
under its provisions in accordance with article 2 they rendered their services,
and also the services rendered by said employees and workmen in the branches
of the National Government, the municipal government of the Federal capital,
or the railway enterprises set forth in article 54, but when the employee or
workman has rendered service in two or more enterprises at the same time,
only the services rendered in one of them may be counted.
In the total length of service any fraction of a year in excess of six months
shall be computed as an entire year.
Chapter 2.—Resources of the fund.
Art. 6. The capital of the fund, from the date of promulgation of this law,
shall be composed of—
(a) The amount of the compulsory deduction of 5 per cent of the wages
of the persons covered by article 8, provided such wages do not exceed 1,000
pesos per month; in case they do, the deductions shall be made only on this
sum.
(&)
The amount of one month’s wages, payable in 36 consecutive monthly
installments, of each of the permanent employees and workmen now in the
service.
(c) The amount of the first month’s wages of each employee or workman
who becomes permanent, which shall also be paid in 36 monthly installments.
(d) The difference in the first month’s wages after an employee or work
man is promoted to a better paid position or receives an increase in salary.
(e ) The resources arising from article 51.
(/) A monthly contribution from the enterprises equal to 8 per cent of the
salaries and wages of all the permanent employees and workmen, provided
such pay does not exceed 1,000 pesos per month; in case it does, the contribu
tion shall be paid only on this amount.
(ff) The amount of the funds, plus interest, which prior to the promulgation
of this law the enterprises have had to contribute toward the retirement of
their personnel under their concession contracts, or by virtue of municipal ordi
nances or National or Provincial laws.
(ft) The amount of those fines incurred by the enterprises whose use is not
otherwise prescribed by law or contract.
(i)
The interest and profit arising from the investment of the capital of
the fund.
(j) Any donations and legacies left to said fund.
(h) The contribution of the Nation, the amount and form of which shall be
determined as soon as the census referred to in article 59 is taken, and the
fund’s report required by the same article i-s received.
Art. 7. The funds and contributions obtained under this law shall be the
exclusive property of the persons covered by its provisions, and all retirement
annuities, pensions, and grants hereafter made under said law, as well as the
expenses arising from the administration of the fund, shall be paid out of said
funds and contributions.
In no case shall they be disposed of for other purposes, and the members of
the board of directors shall be personally liable for any violation of this pro*
vision, this liability being judicially extended to their property.
Art. 8. All the resources of the fund, except the sums fixed by the board of
directors as necessary for current payments, shall be deposited in a special
account in the Bank of the Argentine Nation.
Art. 9. Without prejudice to the direction of the preceding article, the
resources of the fund, after deduction of the sums necessary for current pay
ments, shall, on resolution of the board of directors in each case, be invested
in Government income securities or any such securities whose payment is
86
LABOR LEGISLATION- OF ARGENTINA
guaranteed by the Government, in such a way as to produce the highest pos
sible interest and the most frequent capitalization.
Whenever the board of directors deems it expedient, as much as 50 per cent
of the capitalized funds may be invested in loans to employees and workmen
covered by this law who have more than 10 years' service to their credit, such
loans to be secured by first mortgage and to be employed exclusively in the
construction or purchase of houses for use as dwellings by their owners. Such
a loan, however, may not exceed the sum of 10,000 pesos, and shall be in
proportion to the wages of the employee or workman, said wages being at
least equal to three times the installment to be paid monthly on account of
amortization and interest. These loans shall bear interest at a rate not exceed
ing 7 per cent and shall be repaid by cumulative amortizations within a period
not exceeding 15 years, advance payments for partial or total cancellation
being permissible at any time, in accordance with tables to be specified in
the regulation of the law. Said loans may be combined with ordinary life
insurance.
Loans of money may also be made to employees or workmen with more than
five years’ service, up to an amount not exceeding three months’ wages of
the employee or workman, and repayable in 12 monthly installments, provided
his personal contributions to the fund equal the amount of the loan. All
rights under this law are dependent on the fulfillment of any obligations which
the employee or workman has contracted under this article.
Art. 10. The enterprises to which this law refers are required to make the
deductions mentioned in paragraphs (a), (6), and (c) of article 6 from the
wages of the permanent personnel of their respective branches and to deposit
them in cash in the Bank of the Argentine Nation to the credit of the fund
within 30 days after the end of each month, without deducting any amount
whatever on any account.
Art. 11. The sums to be contributed by enterprises under paragraph (f ) of
article 6 of this law shall be deposited at the time and in the manner estab
lished in article 10 for the deposit of the deductions. The sums referred to
in paragraph (gr) of article 6 shall be deposited by the enterprises in the same
manner within 30 days after the promulgation of this law.
Art. 12. Any enterprises failing to comply with the provisions of the pre
ceding articles, after notice which, for the purpose of such compliance, shall
be sent them by the chairman of the board of directors of the fund, shall incur
a fine of 200 pesos per day; said chairman shall have authority to institute
before the executive authority or the courts of justice the proper executive
actions.
Chapter 3.—Retirement (mnuities
Art. 13. The retirement annuity granted by this law is either: 1. Ordinary;
2. for voluntary retirement ; 3. for disability.
Art. 14. Ordinary retirement annuities shall be granted to employees or
workmen in the following circumstances: (1) Total—to any employee or work
man who, having served at least 30 years, has attained the age of 50 years;
(2) reduced by 5 per cent for each year of age which he lacks of 50; to any
employee or workman who, having served at least 30 years, is more than 45
years of age and applies for retirement.
Art. 15. The amount of the ordinary retirement annuity shall be calculated
on the basis of the average wages during the last five years’ service and in
accordance with the following scale: (1) Wages not exceeding 100 pesos
(national currency), 95 per cent; (2) wages between 100 and 300 pesos (na
tional currency), 95 pesos plus 80 per cent of the difference between 100 and
300 pesos (national currency) ; (3) wages between 300 and 1,000 pesos (national
currency), 255 pesos plus 70 per cent of the difference between 300 and 1,000
pesos (national currency).
Art. 16. The voluntary retirement annuity may be granted the employee or
workman who, having had more than 10 years’ service and being more than
50 years of age, does not have the number of years of service required by
article 14.
This annuity shall be calculated at the rate of 2 per cent of the ordinary
retirement annuity for each year of service.
Art. 17. Those employees or workmen who, having less than 10 years* service,
reach the age of 50 years and desire to be retired shall be entitled to compensa
tion equal to the sums contributed by them to the resources of the fund, plus
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
87
interest at the rate of 5 per cent per annum compounded annually. In no case
may this interest be calculated after the date of retirement.
Art. 18. Any employees or workmen dismissed because of their services not
being required or for reasons of economy, or for reasons other than those re
ferred to in article 28, and those obliged by the rules of the enterprises to leave
the service on account of getting married, provided they are not entitled by this
law to a larger benefit, shall be granted:
1. To those with less than 10 years’ service, 5 per cent of the sums received
by them on account of wages or for remuneration of their work, plus interest
at the rate of 5 per cent per annum, compounded annually.
2. To those having 10 years’ service or more, but less than 20 years, one
month’s pay for each year of service.
3. To anyone having more than 20 years’ service, a retirement annuity equal
to 2 per cent of the ordinary retirement annuity for each year.
Art. 19. Employees or workmen covered by the preceding article who later
reenter the service of the enterprises shall be entitled by this law to credit for
the years of service rendered prior to their retirement, provided they have
waived the benefits of said article or return to the fund in a lump sum the
amounts received from the same by reason of their retirement.
Art. 20. The amount of the retirement annuity for disability shall be calcu
lated at the rate of 5 per cent of the amount of the ordinary retirement annuity
for each year of service up to its maximum.
Art. 21. The retirement annuity for disability, within the conditions set forth
in the preceding article, shall be granted to :
1. Any employee or workman who, after 10 years’ service is declared physi
cally or mentally incapacitated for the further performance of his duties or
any others suitable to his usual activity or proved training.
2. Any employee or workman who, whatever his length of service, becomes
permanently incapacitated in the line of duty, from any cause clearly and solely
arising out of the service.
Art. 22. In no case shall a retirement annuity for disability be granted to
anyone applying therefor after six months from the date of leaving the employ
of the enterprise, except in case of force majeure, or mental or physical
inability to take such action.
A rt. 23. Retirement annuities for d sability shall be granted provisionally,
and the beneficiaries shall remain subject to any revisions, though not more
than two per year, which the board of directors of the fund may impose during
the first five years after the granting of such annuity; after this date such an
annuity shall be considered final.
A rt. 24. No retirement annuity fo r disability shall be granted without a pre
vious report from the National Department o f Health, or from the doctor or
doctors designated fo r the purpose by the board o f directors, as to the causes
o f the alleged physical and mental incapacity. The board o f directors may,
moreover, order any investigations which it may deem suitable.
A rt. 25. Only those who have obtained ordinary retirement annuities may
return to the service. In such case the retired worker shall cease to receive the
retirement annuity and receive only the wage in the new employment. When
this is given up, he shall again receive the retirement annuity, without being
able to make any demand for an increase in such annuity, for which reason he
shall not be required to make the contributions specified in article 6 as regards
the new employment.
Art. 26. There is excepted from the provisions of the preceding article any
person retired for disability, should he work at some other job. In such case
he shall receive in addition to the wage that fraction of the retirement annuity
granted him by the board of directors of the fund which corresponds to the
diminution suffered in his capacity for work.
Should he work a sufficient number of years to obtain an ordinary retire
ment annuity, there shall be granted him as a final retirement annuity an
amount equal to the ordinary retirement annuity corresponding to the wage in
his new employment plus the fraction of the retirement annuity for disability
which he has received.
A rt. 27. Retirement annuities and grants when once allowed shall be paid
from the day when the party leaves the service, or, in the case of those who have
already left it, from the day when the annuity is granted them. In cases of
disability or when the employee or workman is dismissed for reasons not pro
vided for in this law the retirement annuity or grant shall date from the day
on which the employee or workman because of his disability or dismissal was
88
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
deprived of his job. For the proof of such circumstances an indispensable pre
requisite is an immediate report of the fact to the directors of the fund, unless
by reason of incapacity or force majeure it could not be reported.
If such employee or workman dies without having received the amount of
the retirement annuity to which he was entitled from the day when by reason
of his disability or discharge he was obliged to leave his employment, said
amount shall be delivered to the persons mentioned in article 32, who shall also
be entitled to receive the pension provided for by this law.
Art. 28. Employees or workmen having no family to support and who have
complied with the conditions entitling them to be retired on annuity but
who before being so are dismissed for incompetency or for excessive use of
alcoholic beverages during working hours or who have been convicted of a crime
carrying with it a term in jail or prison shall not be retired on annuity, but
there shall be refunded to them the amount of the deductions made from their
wages, provided there is no occasion to use such amount for indemnifying the
civil damage caused.
In case he has a family to support the convict shall not be refunded the
amount of the deductions from his wages, but the pension corresponding to
the retirement annuity forfeited shall be received by the persons entitled thereto
under this law.
Art. 29. The right to demand the retirement annuity expires at the end of
five years from the day of leaving the service, except in case of insanity, in*
capacity, or force majeure, and as long as such circumstances exist.
Art. 30. The retirement annuity is for life, and the right to receive it is for
feited only for the causes expressed in this law. Any person retired on annuity
shall forfeit all right to such annuity if he domicile himself in a foreign country
without first obtaining permission from the national executive authority.
Art. 31. Commutation or pardon shall not restore the rights forfeited as a
consequence of the provisions of this law.
C hapter 4.—Pensions
Art. 32. In cases in which under this law there exists a right to a retirement
annuity and the employee or workman dies, the following persons shall be en
titled to receive a pension in the proportion and on the conditions prescribed in
this chapter: The widow, the invalid widower, the children, or if such are lack
ing, the parents, or in default of these the unmarried sisters, of the deceased
who have been dependent on him.
If the deceased had already been retired on annuity, the persons enumerated
in the preceding paragraph shall be entitled to pension under the conditions
prescribed in the following articles, without other formality than that of proving
their identity, showing the existence of the retirement annuity in accordance
with this law, and observing the requirements thereof.
Art. 33. The right to pension among the persons mentioned in the preceding
article shall date from the day of the decease, and it shall be granted in the
manner and order following: 1. To the widow or incapacitated widower con
currently with the children; 2. to the children only; 3. to the widow concur
rently with the parents of the deceased, provided the parents were entirely
dependent on him for support; 4. to the parents alone, under the circumstances
expressed in the preceding clause; 5. to the unmarried sisters of the deceased
who were dependent on him.
Natural children recognized or declared to be such by judicial decree shall
receive that part of a pension to which they may be entitled under the civil law.
Art. 34. The amount of the pension shall be 50 per cent of the full retirement
annuity which the deceased was receiving or to which he was entitled. Half
of the pension shall go to the widow, if she shares concurrently with the children
or parents of the deceased, the other half shall be distributed among the latter
“ per capita.” In the absence of parents, children, or sisters, the whole pension
shall go to the widow.
In the cases covered by classes 1 and 2 of article 33, if the pension right of
any of the persons enumerated in said clauses becomes extinguished, their part
shall be added to that of the children coming under the benefits of this law.
Art. 35. Should the employee die after divorcing his wife as unfaithful, or if
said wife had in fact been living separate from him of her own will, she shall
not be entitled to a pension, and it shall pass to the person who under this law
are entitled thereto.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION-
89
A rt. 36. If on the death of the employee there should survive orphans of
different marriages, the pension shall be distributed among them in the propor
tion corresponding to the same and shall be paid to their respective legal
representatives.
A rt. 37. Pensions are for life, and the right to receive them is forfeited only
in the cases specified in this law.
Art. 38. Two or more pensions or retirement annuities shall not be paid to
the same person. The party concerned must choose the one which suits him,
and when the choice is made the right to the other is extinguished.
A rt. 39. All pensions shall be granted by the directors of the fund, to whom
applications shall be made, accompanied by the necessary proof that the appli
cant comes within the terms of this law. The directors shall definitely grant
or reject the petition, but their decisions may be appealed in the form and for
the purposes specified in article 62.
A rt. 40. The persons enumerated in article 32 shall be entitled to compensa
tion equal to 5 per cent of the sums received as wages by the deceased em
ployee or workman who leaves no right to pension. But if the employee or
workman has 20 years’ service or more, and dies without having acquired the
right to an ordinary retirement annuity, the persons enumerated in article
32 shall be entitled to pension in the proportion of 1 per cent of the ordinary
retirement annuity for each year of service.
A rt. 41. The right to a pension is extinguished: (1) For the widow, widower,
or mother, upon remarriage; (2) for children not incapacitated for work, when
they reach the age of 18 years; (3) for daughters or unmarried sisters, when
they marry; and (4) in general, for dissolute life, vagrancy, or taking up
residence in a foreign country without previous permission of the national
executive authority.
Chapter 5.—Administration of (the fund
A rt. 42. The administration of the fund shall be in charge of a board of
directors, composed of a chairman appointed by the national executive author
ity with the consent of the Senate and whose term of office shall be four years, a
representative of the enterprises, and a representative of the employees and
workmen in each one of the public services coming under this law. The term
of office of the directors shall also be four years, and half of them shall be
replaced each two years.
In no case may more than one representative of the enterprises and another
of the employees and workmen in the same public service sit on the board of
directors; and the two representatives must belong to different enterprises in
said public service, unless such service embraces but a single enterprise.
For the purposes of this article, the following are declared to be separate
public services: Street cars, telephones, telegraphs and radio-telegraphy,
gas and electricity, water works and sanitary service.
A rt. 43. For the election of their representatives, each of the enterprises
shall have a number of votes in proportion to the total amount of wages and
salaries paid during the year immediately preceding.
The representatives of the employees and workmen shall be elected by an
assembly of delegates by secret ballot, and the latter shall be elected, without
interference by the enterprises, by the permanent employees and workmen in
district meetings by secret ballot, in the proportion of one delegate for each
500 employees and workmen or fraction thereof of one-half or over.
Simultaneously with the election of the regular directors, there shall be
elected, in the same manner, an alternate for each director, who shall act for
the director on the board of directors in case of the latter’s resignation, death,
or absence from any other cause for a period longer than three months.
The national executive authority shall regulate the election proceedings and
the election returns in accordance with these principles, and shall supervise the
first election through the agency of the National Department of Labor and
the inspection bureau of the Department of Justice (Inspecddn de justieia),
the elections thereafter to be under the control of the fund, with the assistance
of said inspection bureau.
A rt. 44. The board of directors shall appoint and remove employees of the
fund, shall make its own rules and regulations, and shall make a census of
employees and workmen, stating the salary, class, years of service, and other
data required in connection with this law.
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LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
It shall provide for the collection and investment of the resources of the
fund, prosecuting the enterprises if necessary to this end, and it shall fix
annually its budget of expenditures and the amount of retirement annuities
and pensions to be met during the year with the fund’s resources, all of which
shall be submitted to the national executive authority for approval.
Art. 45. The chairman shall have a voice and a vote in the deliberations
of the board of directors, and shall cast the deciding vote in case of a tie.
He executes the decisions of the board of directors and is its legal repre
sentative. The employees of the fund shall be under his immediate orders
but their appointment and dismissal shall be by the board of directors.
Art. 46. In the absence of the chairman of this fund, the board of direc
tors shall be presided over by the chairman of the national fund for retire
ment annuities and pensions of railway employees and workmen.
Chapter 6.—General provisions
Art. 47. When any of the enterprises covered by this law pass into the
ownership of the Province or municipality, as provided in the concession in such
case or by subsequent agreement, the employees and workmen thereof shall
still belong to the fund created by this law.
Art. 48. The amount of retirement annuity, pension, or grant to be allowed
under this law shall not exceed that corresponding to a maximum wage of
1,000 pesos (national currency) per month, even though the beneficiary receive
a larger compensation.
Art. 49. None of the benefits established by this law shall be granted to
employees or workmen at present entitled to obtain them until after the expi
ration of three years from its promulgation.
Art. 50. Enterprises shall be obliged to furnish the board of directors of
the fund all the information it may request concerning the personnel and to
permit any verification it may deem pertinent, under summons (aperciMmiento)
and penalty of a fine in an amount varying from 500 to 2,000 pesos.
Art. 51. Present employees and workmen who have not contributed to the
formation of the resources of the fund 5 per cent of all the wages received
by them during the number of years accredited in order to be entitled to its
benefits, either because of having worked prior to the date on which the
compulsory deductions referred to in paragraph (a) of article 6 were
ordered or for any other reason, shall, at their option, suffer either an addi
tional deduction of 8 per cent of their wages, beginning the third year after
the promulgation of this law, or a deduction of 10 per cent in their retirement
annuity, until they have paid into the fund a sum equal to 5 per cent of the
wages for the years required for the retirement annuity on which the compul
sory deduction of 5 per cent was not made. If after the date when by this
law he is entitled to receive the benefits of an ordinary retirement annuity,
because of having attained the age and years of service required, the employee
or workman should continue working in his employment, instead of accepting
retirement, he shall be credited monthly with the amount which he would
have been entitled to receive as retirement annuity, until he has thus paid in
to the fund the total amount still owed by him for the purposes referred to in
this article.
If the employee or workman dies without having paid into the fund the
sum owed on the said account, a deduction of 10 per cent shall then be made
in the amount of the pension to which his family may be entitled.
For the purposes of this article the board of directors of the fund shall
prepare a statement in each case showing the total amount owed on such
account by each employee or workman.
Art. 52. Employees and workmen who, on and after the 25th of September,
1918, and prior to the date when this law goes into effect, have been dismissed
for reasons not specified in this law shall be entitled to the benefits accorded
thereby, with a 10 per cent deduction.
On the same conditions the persons referred to in article 32 may obtain a
pension when the employee or workman died after the 25th of September, 1918,
and prior to the promulgation of this law.
Art. 53. Employees and workmen already retired on annuity or pensioned by
the enterprises shall be entitled to receive the benefits of this law on the same
conditions as employees and workmen on the active list. But as regards the
contribution established by article 6 and also in the matter of the amount of
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
91
the retirement annuity or other benefits to which they may be entitled, these
shall be calculated on the basis of the average salary or wage received during
the last five years prior to retirement.
A rt. 54. In the matter of the retirement of the employees and workers of
the Province of the municipality of the Federal Capital, or of railway enter
prises, the national civil retirement annuities and pensions fund, the municipal
fund for retirement annuities and grants of the Federal Capital, and the na
tional fund for retirement annuities and pensions of railway employees and
workmen, respectively, shall compute the services rendered by said employees
and workmen in public service enterprises subject to the provisions of this law.
The present employees and workmen of the public service enterprises covered
by this law shall also have computed the services which they had previously
rendered in the different branches of the national administration or of the
municipality of the Federal Capital and [or] in the railway enterprises.
In both cases, the computation shall be made without deduction of time.
A rt. 55. In the cases covered by the preceding article, this fund shall transfer
to or demand from, respectively, the national civil retirement annuities and
pensions fund, the municipal fund for retirement annuities and grants of the
Federal Capital, and the national fund for retirement annuities and pensions
fund of railway employees and workmen, the proportional sums due in each
case.
Art. 56. Retirement annuities and pensions are unattachable and inalien
able; and any sale, cession, or setting up of rights which become a charge
thereon, preventing their free disposal by the person holding title thereto, shall
be null and void.
Art. 57. The board of directors of the fund shall issue regulations under this
law and submit *sueh regulations to the national executive authority for
approval.
Art. 58. In the matter of contribution by the enterprises, the latter are
empowered, on approval of the authority who granted the concession or who
has charge of the regulation of prices, to raise their prices in the proportion
required for meeting the amounts which they are required to pay.
A rt. 59. The fund shall take a census of the employees and workmen covered
by this law, and also of the persons referred to in article 32, and for this purpose
it shall keep a permanent register containing all the data pertaining to said
employees and workmen and their respective families.
During the first three years of its operation, the fund shall make a mathe
matical study on actuarial bases and the result shall be transmitted to the
executive authority, together with any proposals for the modification of this
law which it may deem desirable; and in the succeeding years said fund shall
present to the executive authority an annual report showing the present and
future financial and administrative condition of the fund, which report shall be
published in the JBoletin Oficial and in two dailies having the largest circulation.
For the purposes of the benefits accorded by this law and of the census
referred to in this article, all employees or workmen covered by this law are
obliged to furnish the data pertaining to the persons mentioned in article 32,
and also to report the birth or death of such persons within 30 days there
after.
A rt. 60. The fund shall have a classification made of the personnel o f the
different public utilities in relation to the nature of their functions or work,
for the purpose of determining the circumstances in which preference should
be given or exception made by reason of age or sex or years of service, and
shall, within the period of two years, transmit the results thereof, with its
opinion, to the executive authority for submission to Congress.
A rt. 61. Any employees or workmen who, because of their connection with
enterprises having agencies or branches outside the Republic, shall have been
transferred to service in other countries, shall be entitled to have their con
tributions refunded, with 5 per cent interest. Should they return to the Re
public, they may be restored to the enjoyment of all the rights accorded by
this law, upon refunding the sums withdrawn, together with 5 per cent interest,
and complying with the other obligations imposed by the law.
A rt. 62. Retirement annuities, pensions, and grants shall be allowed by
majority vote of the members composing the board of directors of the fund,
to whom application therefor shall be made.
In case the party concerned dissent, the decision of the board shall be
appealed to the civil judge sitting, who, having at hand certified copies of
the administrative papers bearing on the case or others which, ex officio and
92
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
for his further information, he may request of the authorities of the fund,
shall decide whether or not the law was applied correctly.
A rt . 63. A ll provisions o f other laws not in conform ity with those of this
law are hereby repealed.
REGULATORY DECREE OF JUNE 30, 1923“
Article 1. The making of mortgage loans authorized by article 9 of Law
No. 11110 to be granted to the employees and workmen entitled to its benefits
shall conform in all respects to the provisions of that law and of this regulation,
the following requirements to be met immediately:
(a) That the employee or workman contribute the deductions provided for
in article 6 of the law.
(&) That he hold a position of permanent nature, proving 10 years’ service.
(c) That the property be intended exclusively as a dwelling for the appli
cant and his family.
(d) That the debtor make, as security for the loan and for the period of the
same, a first mortgage in favor of the fund and secured by the house purchased
or built.
Art. 2. The 10 years’ service required by article 9 of the law and to which
allusion is made in paragraph (&) of the preceding article as an indispen
sable condition for obtaining said loans, shall be determined by taking into
consideration the total service computable; that is, actually rendered by the
applicant, in accordance with article 4 of the law and taking into account the
provisions of article 19 thereof.
Art. 3. There are entitled to the benefits of article 9 of the Jaw any employees
or workmen who have applied for retirement before the date of this decree and
any who shall already have been retired directly by the enterprises, on the
terms prescribed by article 53 of the law.
A rt . 4. The board of directors has the power either to grant or to refuse
any loans for which application is made.
Art. 5. All loans shall be made in cash, and the board of directors shall set
aside for this purpose that part of the funds authorized by article 9 of tiie
law which it may deem suitable, taking into consideration the payments to be
made on account of retirement annuities, pensions, grants, and expenses
of administration.
A rt. 6. The amount o f any loan shall be anywhere from 80 to 100 per cent o f
the valuation o f the property as fixed by the fund, the amount within those
limits to be at the discretion of the board o f directors in each case.
Art. 7. The loans shall bear interest at the rate of 1.625 per cent per quarter,
and shall be repaid by cumulative amortizations at the rate of 1 per cent per
quarter.
The payments shall be made monthly, and the full amount still due may be
paid at any time or extra payments made of not less than 1 per cent of the
original amount of the loan.
A rt. 8. The period of the loan may not exceed 15 years; and only in excep
tional cases and when the board deems it fitting may the fund consent to a
refinancing of the remaining part of the debt of those who have punctually
complied with their obligations for five consecutive years, a new mortgage then
being made and the premium of the term life insurance increased propor
tionately.
Art. 9. In order to obtain a mortgage loan, the borrower is absolutely re
quired to take out a term life insurance policy, the premium of which shall be
paid at the same time and in the same manner as the repayments on the loan.
The insurance premium shall be fixed in relation to the age of the applicant
for the loan and according to the tables approved by this decree.
The term life-insurance policy guarantees to the fund the payment of the
debt on the part of the employee or workman who obtained the mortgage loan,
said insurance decreasing with the debt and becoming void at its extinction,
so that the insured, or his survivors in case of his death, shall be entitled to no
reimbursement on account of said insurance.
Art. 10. The debtor is likewise required to take out fire insurance on the
immovable property acquired or constructed by him for the full period of the
loan, the amount of the insurance to be not less than the valuation of the
20A decree of November 5, 1921, regulates the procedure in regard to the election of tfat
trrjployers’ and employees’ representatives on the board of directors of the fund.
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
93
building as determined by the fund. To this end the fund may take out the
insurance for the debtor for 5-year periods if the latter should not choose to do
so himself in some company with the consent of the board, the debtor paying,
in the first case, the premium for that period. The policy shall be indorsed
in favor of the fund, and the latter may take directly upon itself the burden
of the insurance or else enter into agreements with one or two fire-insurance
companies established in the Argentine Republic for the transfer of the policies
and the correlative obligations.
Art. 11. In applying for a loan to be used for the purchase of a lot or for
building on a lot belonging to the applicant or for the acquisition of land and
building, or, finally, for the purchase of a lot already improved, the party shall
present his application in triplicate on forms supplied by the fund and shall
accompany it with the following data and documents according to circumstances:
(a) Dimensions and location of the lot or ground; (&) enumeration of the years
of service in the enterprise in which he is or has been employed, showing that
he has served the required number of years and is contributing to the fund
the regulation deduction; (c) plans, dimensions (in meters), estimates, specifi
cations, and building contract, the forms for which shall be supplied by the
fund.
Art. 12. In passing on applications the following shall be taken into account:
1. The order of presentation for each public service; 2. The condition of the
member’s debt to the fund at the time application is made, and the punctuality
with which he has repaid previous loans of money, it being understood that the
best record in these matters shall have an influence in the determination of
the right to priority.
In the order resulting the loans shall be granted, in the proportion corres
ponding to each public service, each month from the 1st to the 13th and until
the available funds are exhausted, out of the sums then on hand or paid in
during the preceding month. Any applications that can not be granted from
the available resources shall be considered in their order the following month.
Art. 13. Credit for the purchase of land shall be granted only on condition
that such land is to be used for building, and such credit shall not exceed 40
per cent of the amount credited to the applicant in accordance with Law No.
11110. If two months after the granting of the loan the construction of the
building has not been begun, the fund may foreclose the mortgage.
Art. 14. If the applicant is the owner of the ground, he shall present the
title free of all encumbrance, and in case any encumbrance exists, it shall be
lifted at the time the mortgage loan is made, leaving the said title absolutely
clear.
Art. 15. If a loan is requested for the acquisition of ground and building,
the fund may advance as the first installment the price of the ground, when
this has not been paid for wholly or in part by the applicant, there being de
livered, in consequence, at the time the loan is made only the said amount.
The price of the building shall be supplied in installments, in accordance with
the terms stipulated in the building contract and on a certificate of the tech
nical bureau of the fund as to the amount of work performed.
Art. 16. In the case stated in the preceding article, the payment of amortiza
tion and interest by the borrower shall begin at the time he receives the last
installment for the payment of the work. For such purpose, a current account
with the debtor shall be opened, charging him the interest due on the sums
advanced to him up to that time.
Art. 17. In case of the purchase of property already improved, the amount
of the loan shall be delivered at the time the employee or workman takes title
to the property and makes the mortgage in favor of the fund, these two acts to
be simultaneous.
Art. 18. In all these cases, as soon as the loan is granted and it is accepted
by the applicant the papers shall be drawn up by a notary designated by the
fund.
Art. 19. In no case shall more than one loan be granted to the same person,
and the amount of the loan granted shall be such that the monthly installment
to be paid as interest and amortization shall not exceed one-third of the wages
or retirement annuity received by the party at the time of the application.
Art. 20. Loans which are granted may be increased only in the following
cases, provided the limit fixed in the preceding article and the maximum amount
fixed by article 9 of the law are not exceeded: (a) When because of the estab100691°—30----- 7
94
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ABGENTINA
lished needs of the employee or workman or his family, the enlargement of his
house is justified; (6) when it requires important repairs for its preservation;
(c ) when such increase is to be used in paying for pavements and sanitary
work affecting the mortgaged property; (d) when the applicant has become
able to meet payments larger than those on the loan already granted, without
changing the proportion fixed in the preceding article.
A rt. 21. The debtor may not sell the mortgaged property, nor place any
other encumbrance upon it, nor do any work modifying its structure even
though it be with the intention of making improvements in it, without the pre
vious consent cf the board of directors. Neither may he rent the property for
a period longer than one year, nor collect rents in advance for more than two
months. The violation of any of these provisions shall give the fund the right
to foreclose the mortgage.
Art. 22. In case the debtor does not comply with paragraph (c) of article 1,
the fund may declare every agreement canceled in fact and require the im
mediate payment of the whole debt. Only in exceptional cases, when in the
judgment of the board of directors there are good reasons, may the fund
authorize the establishment of businesses or the renting of the property as a
whole or in part.
Art. 23. The contracts for loans on real property situated within the juris
diction of the capital of the Republic shall be entered into and carried
out in the capital, and those relative to real property situated within
the jurisdiction of the Provinces and the National Territories shall be entered
into and carried out in the respective jurisdiction; and for this purpose the
fund may designate its representative and notary in the capital of each
Province, in the capitals of the National Territories, and in any other localities
it may deem expedient.
A rt. 24. The board of directors of the fund shall organize the offices necessary
for the work connected with the loans, and is authorized to arrange with the
National Mortgage Bank, if it should deem suitable, for any work regarded as
indispensable for the better execution of the law.
Art. 25. The board of directors of the fund shall establish a salary scale for
assessors, building inspectors, and notaries, and also a percentage for expenses
of administration, all of which shall be strictly observed, and it is empowered
for this purpose to make arrangements with the National Mortgage Bank or
any sim lar institution.
Art. 26. The fund may also organize an insurance section, which shall issue:
(a) Term life insurance policies for the decreasing amount owed by the em
ployees and workmen to whom the fund grants mortgage loans; (6) fire-in
surance policies on the houses for which the loans are granted.
Art. 27. In case of the death of any debtor who meets the requirements set
forth in article 1 of this regulatory decree, the fund shall declare the debts
extinguished, releas ng the mortgage and placing the property in the possession
of the heirs as soon as his death is established in legal form and all the taxes,
interest, and expenses have been paid.
Art. 28. Employees or workmen who have been dismissed or retired may
continue paying off the debt in the manner originally agreed on, provided that
they comply with the provision of paragraph (c) of article 1 of this decree, that
they pay the installments on time, and that they do not take advantage of the
right granted by paragrarh 2 of article 18 of the law.
Art. 29. If for any reason the debtor should be unable to continue paying the
installments of the loan in the case covered by the preceding article, the fund
may choose between selling the property at public auction or taking upon itself
the administration of the property on the terms establ shed by the mortgage, all
obligation on the part of the debtor to continue monthly payments being
immediately suspended.
Art. 30. Should the fund decide in favor of the second course, the employee
or workman may regain possession of the property by guaranteeing the regular
payment of the installments, together with the corresponding increase in the
premium on the life insurance for the time that the original period has been
lengthened, provided the income from the property has not sufficed to cover that
amount, and by paying the expenses connected with the upkeep of the property
and the taxes, with interest thereon at such rate as may be fixed by the board
of directors, and also any expenses arising from administration. This privilege
shall be granted only for the period of 12 months, at the end of which time,
if the debtor has not retaken possess*on. the fund may require full payment of
the debt immediately; in default thereof, the fund m&y proceed to sell the
TEXT OF LABOK LEGISLATION
95
property if such action is in the interest of the fund, adopting that procedure
which it deems most advantageous for safeguarding such interests.
A rt. 31. If during the period of 12 months while the payments are suspended,
the death of the debtor should occur, the fund shall declare the debt extin
guished and shall turn the property over to the heirs as soon as said heirs
make up the back payments, taxes, expenses, etc., with interest thereon, for
which purpose they shall be granted a supplementary extension of six months,
counting from the date of the decease. In case the heirs do not take advantage
of this opportunity, the fund shall proceed, in order to secure the balance of
the loan, as indicated in articles 29 and 30 of this decree.
Art. 32. Whenever the fund decides on the sale or auction of the property,
it shall pay to the employee or workman, in the cases set forth in articles 29
and 30 of this regulation, or to his judicially declared legal heirs, as provided
by the article preceding, any part of the sale price remaining after paying the
full amount of the loan, with interest thereon, and any expenses, of whatever
nature, arising in connection therewith.
A rt. 33. There are hereby approved, as an integral part of this regulation,
the tables prepared by the fund to govern the granting and repayment of the
credits herein referred to, namely, that for the amortization of mortgage loans,
payable in 180 monthly installments, with interest compounded quarterly;
that for term life insurance and for maximum loans in relation to wages; and
the fixing as a uniform fire-insurance premium of the sum of 0.12 centesimos
(national currency) per month for each peso of insurance.
BANK EMPLOYEES
LAW NO. 11232 OF OCTOBER 9, 1923
A rticle 1. There is hereby created the national fund for retirement annuities
and pensions of employees of banking enterprises, which is subject to the
provisions in the following articles.
Art. 2. The minimum benefits which the fund shall grant, according to the
conditions established by the organic law, are the following: (a) Ordinary
retirement annuity; (&) special retirement annuity, for disability of an
employee; (c) special retirement annuity for disability of an employee incurred
in the service; and (d) pension to his family on the death of an employee.
Art. 3. The entire personnel on the monthly pay roll of private banks are
included under the provisions of these laws.
Art. 4. Seniority of the personnel included under this law shall be recognized
from their entrance into the service of any of the banking establishments.
Art. 5. In the total period a fraction exceeding six months shall be computed
as one entire year.
Art. 0. In the computation of years of service there shall be taken into
account the services rendered, even though they are not continuous.
Art. 7. The capital of the fund shall be composed of the following:
(a) The compulsory monthly deduction of 5 per cent of the wages of each
employee, beginning on the promulgation of this law. In wages of over 1,500
pesos (national currency) said deduction shall be made only on said amount of
1,500 pesos.
(5)
The first month’s wages of the employee when he enters the service of
the bank, after the ratification of this law, which shall be paid in 10 monthly
installments.
Present employees shall contribute to the fund, in 24 monthly installments,
the amount of one month’s wages which they are receiving when this law
is ratified, calculating up to the maximum of 1,500 pesos (national currency)
fixed as a limit for the retirement annuity.
(e)
The difference in the first month’s wages when the employee is pro
moted to a higher position or receives an increase of wages.
( d) The monthly contribution of the banks, consisting of 8 per cent of the
total monthly pay roll, beginning from the date on 'which this law is promul
gated.
(e) The interest or profits earned by the resources of the fund.
( /) The fines received under this law.
(g)
The contributions of the employees and of the banks to satisfy the
deficit referred to in article 17, the amount of which shall be determined by
the organic law.
96
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Abt. 8. Payment of the benefits granted by the fund and the expenses of
the administration of the same shall be made from the resources and profits
obtained under this law.
In no case shall the resources or any part of them be used for any other
purpose, under the personal liability of its directors.
A kt . 9. Up to 50 per cent of the resources of the fund shall be invested in
national income securities or in other securities having the subsidiary guaranty
of the Nation; and the other 50 per cent in mortgage loans to employees in
cluded under the benefits of this institution, whether individually or as mem
bers of cooperative societies, to be used exclusively in the acquisition or con
struction of their homes and in accordance with the rules and regulations
which the board of directors, with the approval of the executive authority,
shall make. When there are funds available because of lack of requests for
mortgage loans, they can be invested temporarily in the income securities to
which reference has been made.
Art. 10. The banks shall collect monthly the sums to which paragraphs
(a) to (c) of article 7 refer, and shall, from the 1st to the 5th of each month,
deposit them, together with the contribution referred to in paragraph ( d) of
the same article, in the Bank of the Argentine Nation to the order of the
fund, under penalty of a fine of 200 pesos daily, after notice from the board
of directors of the fund.
Art. 11. The banks shall be required to furnish to the fund any informa
tion it seeks as to the personnel and to submit any proofs it deems desirable
under penalty of a fine of from 500 to 2,000 pesos in each case.
Abt. 12. The administration of the fund established by this law shall be
in charge of a board of directors, consisting of a chairman appointed by the
executive authority with the consent of the Senate, three representatives of
the enterprises and three of the personnel, and an equal number of alternates
for both parties.
In the election of their representatives, each of the enterprises shall have a
number of votes in proportion to the total wages and salaries paid during the
year immediately preceding.
The representatives of the personnel shall be elected by secret vote in an
assembly of delegates, which shall meet in the Federal Capital. The delegates
shall be elected by simple plurality and by secret vote in district meetings
held in the electoral districts to be established by the regulation. The num
ber of delegates to be elected in each district shall be in proportion to the mem
bers of the fund in the district, and each delegate shall have in the assembly
the number of votes corresponding to that of his constituents.
Any interference by the enterprises or tlieir agents in the election proceed
ings is prohibited.
The national executive authority shall regulate the election proceedings and
the election returns in accordance with these principles, and shall supervise
the first election through the agency of the National Department of Labor and
the general inspection bureau of the Department of Justice (Impeccidn general
de justida), the management of the elections thereafter being under the control
of the fund with the assistance of the said inspection bureau.
Art. 13. The representatives elected to the board of directors of the fund,
including those of the employees, shall belong to different banking institutions.
Art. 14. The term of office of the representatives shall be three years. The
chairman of the fund shall be appointed by the executive authority, with the
consent of the Senate, and his term of office shall be three years.
Art. 15. The board of directors shall receive the remuneration which shall
be fixed in the budget of the fund.
The chairman is the legal representative of the fund, with a voice and a
vote in its deliberations. The employees of the fund shall be under his im
mediate orders, but their appointment and removal shall be by the board of
directors.
Art. 16. The board of directors of the fund shall make its own rules and
regulations and shall fix annually the budget of expenditures, with the approval
of the national executive authority.
It shall make annually a general balance sheet, which shall be published, and
a verified quarterly statement of numbers and settlements, which shall be
distributed to the banks for posting in places visible to the personnel.
All the expenses of this fund shall be audited by the National General Ac
counting Office.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
97
A r t . 17. The board of directors shall appoint a technical commission, which
within the maximum period of one year shall make a census of employees, and
within a year after the census is made shall make an actuarial valuation of the
plan of loans to be granted to the members on the basis of the resources created
by this law. It shall also determine in what manner the deficit caused by the
recognition of seniority of the personnel referred to in article 4 shall be covered.
The board of directors, in agreement with these principles, shall recommend, in
a special regulation, the benefits referred to in article 2, submitting a bill to
Congress which shall serve as a basis in passing the organic law of the fund.
Art. 18. The expenses for administration of the fund and for transportation
of the electors shall be paid out of the resources created by this law, the total
not to exceed 3 per cent of the amount received by virtue of article 7.
Art. 19. The board of directors shall have authority to institute before the
national executive authority or the courts of justice actions under this law.
Art. 20. The fund for banks shall compute the services rendered in other
activities subject to the retirement system by other national laws.
The other funds shall compute the bank services, and in the retirement
annuities or pensions granted with mixed services each fund shall contribute its
corresponding proportional part.
The computation shall be made without deduction of time.
For the purposes of this article, the last fund shall grant the retirement
annuity or pension in accordance with its law, and the other funds shall reim
burse it with their proportional part.
Art. 21. Banking enterprises under national jurisdiction and those which
have agencies or branches in the Federal Capital or the National Territories are
included under the benefits of this law.
The Provincial and municipal banks may take advantage of its benefits,
provided their representatives and those of the employees request it within six
months after promulgation.
The executive authority, on demand of the board of directors, is authorized
to prevent the functioning of any bank, branch, or agency which repeatedly
neglects to comply with the requirements imposed by this law.
A rt . 22. The retirement annuities and pensions may not be attached and are
inalienable. Any sale, conveyance, or setting up of rights which becomes a
charge upon them and prevents their free disposal by the person holding title
thereto shall be null.
A rt . 23. In case of dissent by the interested party, the decision of the board
of directors shall be appealable by him within 90 days after being notified
thereof in an authentic manner. The Federal chamber ( Gdmara Federal) of
the capital, after hearing the appellant and the representative designated by
the fund, shall decide, without further appeal, on the basis of the record of
the administrative proceedings or anything else it may officially request for its
better understanding.
Art. 24. Any case not provided for in this law shall be decided by the board
of directors of the fund by majority vote.
A rt . 25. The personnel of the fund are recognized as entitled to the benefits
granted by this law, and any of them who may have previously rendered service
in banks shall be given credit for such service.
A rt . 26. Any employee of the enterprises included under this law who has
become separated therefrom between January 1, 1922, and the passing of the
organic law, for causes other than proved bad conduct, may take advantage of
the benefits of the same. The same benefit is recognized for heirs with the
right to receive pension.
A rt . 27. Every provision of other laws contrary to those of this law is
revoked.
ORGANIC LAW OF THE BANK EMPLOYEES’ NATIONAL RETIREMENT
FUND21
A rticle 1. The national fund for retirement annuities and pensions for bank
employees which hereafter shall be called the bank employees’ national retire
ment fund, shall function subject to the provisions of this law.
MA decree of January 7, 1924, regulates the procedure in regard to the election o f the
employers’ and employees’ representatives on the hoard of directors of the fund, and a
decree of February 4, 1927, prescribes the powers and duties of such board of directors
and o f the members thereof.
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LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Art. 2. The funds and revenues created by this law are the exclusive prop
erty of the persons included under the said law. From said funds shall be
paid the retirement annuities, pensions, withdrawals, and subsidies granted
under its provisions and the expenses of administration of the fund.
In no case shall the board of directors authorize or permit the use of the
said funds for any other purposes than those provided for by this law, under
the personal liability of its members.
Art. 3. Private banking enterprises operating throughout the Republic,
whether as principal bank, branch, or agency, are compulsorily included under
the provisions of this law. The personnel of the retirement fund referred to in
this law is also included.
Art. 4. Private banking enterprises which operate outside the capital and the
National Territories, if they were already functioning previous to the period of
incorporation, must make the proper contributions from the date of initiation
of the operations of the fund (October 10, 1923), or from the opening of the
bank, if that occurred later. In both cases there must be added to the respec
tive contributions interest at 6 per cent, compounded quarterly, from the date
on which they would have been made if the incorporation had been effected at
the time referred to.
Art. 5. Official or semiofficial banks of the Provinces or municipalities, regard
less of the place in which their principal banks, branches, or agencies operate,
may also avail themselves of the benefits of this law, providing their representa
tives, through their respective governments, and the majority of the employees
request it, subject to the conditions established in the preceding article; but
none of the benefits provided by the law shall be granted until three years after
the date of their coming under this law. The affiliation of any of these banks
with the fund created by this law must include the entire personnel of the
enterprise or establishment seeking affiliation.
A rt. 6. In no case may any of the banking enterprises referred to in the
preceding article apply for their withdrawal.
Art. 7. For the more exact interpretation of this law there shall be under
stood :
(а) By “ banking enterprises” those which, in a permanent form and as the
principal object of their business, carry on credit operations by means of ac
cumulation of capital which is loaned to third parties in any of the usual forms
of personal or real credit.
(б) By “ employee ” a person who renders services to banking enterprises
on terms fixed by them, and in consideration of a salary.
(o)
By “ salary ” the fixed remuneration in money which the employee re
ceives periodically for his regular services, regardless of the denomination given
it or the forms in which its payment is stated on the books of the banking
enterprise.
Art. 8. The seniority of the employees of banking enterprises included under
this law shall be recognized from the date of their beginning work in any one of
them, as well as the seniority of employees in official or semiofficial Provincial
or municipal banking enterprises not affiliated, when they enter the employ of
any of those included under this law.
Art. 9. Those persons who, having ceased to form a part of the personnel
of banking enterprises included under this law prior to January 1, 1922, are
later reemployed by any of them, shall be entitled to have their former employ
ment recognized, and are required to cover the seniority payments by means of a
monthly deduction of an additional 10 per cent of the salary they receive, and
subsequently by means of the contributions fixed in article 19, paragraph (6).
Art. 10. In the calculation of the services there shall be taken into account
those actually rendered, even though they are not continuous, and a fraction
exceeding six months shall be computed as one year.
A rt . 11. Any employee of the enterprises included under this law who has
become separated therefrom between January 1, 1922, and the ratification of
the present law, for causes other than proven misconduct, may take advantage
of the benefits of the same. The same privilege is granted to heirs who are
entitled to receive a pension.
In every case the contributions fixed in articles 18 and 19 must be made.
Art. 12. For the purposes of the benefits granted by this law, the time spent
in compulsory military service shall be counted, provided the interested party
chooses the said benefits within one year after his reentry into a banking enter
prise and pays the contributions referred to in paragraphs (ft) and (c) of article
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
99
17, which shall be made in 40 monthly payments. The said benefit shall be
extended, on the same conditions, to persons who have performed said military
service previous to this law.
Art. 13. The banking employees’ national retirement fund shall compute the
services rendered by those who have been affiliated with other retirement sys
tems governed by the National laws, as well as by Provincial laws or municipal
ordinances, provided reciprocity exists with this fund. The other funds shall
compute the services of persons affiliated with the bank employees’ fund, and
in the case of retirement annuities granted for mixed services each fund shall
contribute its proportional part, according to the respective periods of service,
based on the salaries of the applicants during their period of service, and on the
per cent of benefits recognized by the law of the institution which has to pay
said benefits. For the purposes of this article and on the conditions above*
mentioned the last fund shall grant the retirement annuity or pension in ac
cordance with its law, giving recognition for the respective services and fixing
the liability of each of the other funds on which there is a claim. In no case
shall any deduction of time be made.
Art. 14. Banking enterprises are required to furnish the fund with any infor
mation it requests concerning the personnel and supply it with an authentic copy
of any data and information it deems necessary, under penalty of a fine of from
500 to 2,000 pesos in each case, and double that amount for each repetition of
the offense.
Art. 15. The employees who must choose [one of two or more funds], in
accordance with the provisions of article 71, shall not be required to make
contributions except to the fund chosen.
In case the interested party, having made contributions to the bank em
ployees’ fund, chooses the benefits of another law, the amount of his payments
to such fund shall be returned to him with 5 per cent interest per year.
The same disposition shall be made in the case of any person who, having
made contributions to the bank employees’ fund, is excluded by this law from
its benefits.
Art. 16. Retirement annuities and pensions may not be attached and are
inalienable. Any sale, conveyance, or setting up of rights which becomes a
charge upon them or prevents their free disposal by the one holding title
thereto shall be null and void, with no other exception than that authorized
by this law, as a guaranty for mortgage loans to the affiliated members
themselves.
Resources of the fund
Art. 17. The capital of the fund shall be composed of the following resources:
(a)
Amounts collected under Law No. 11232 up to the promulgation of this
law.
(5)
Compulsory monthly deduction from the salaries of the employees in
cluded under articles 3 and 4 of this law, provided the said salaries do not
exceed 1,500 pesos per month and in case they do the deduction shall be made
only up to said amount, in accordance with the following scale: Up to 500
pesos, 5 per cent; from 501 to 1,000 pesos, 6 per cent; from 1,001 to 1,500 pesos,
7 per cent.
(c) The amount of the first month’s salary of the employee when he enters
the service of any of the banking enterprises included under this law, which
shall be paid in 20 consecutive monthly installments.
(d) The difference in the first month’s salary when the employee is pro
moted to a higher position in one of the affiliated enterprises or receives an
increase in salary.
(0)
The monthly contribution of the banks, consisting of 8 per cent of the
total salaries paid to their personnel.
(f) Interest or profits earned by the resources of the fund.
(g) Fines collected in accordance with this law.
(h) The contributions provided for in article! 18, 19, 20, and 21 and which
are paid by employees and banking enterprises to cover seniority deficits, in
conformity with the provisions of article 17 of Law No. 11232.
Art. 18. The bank employees’ national retirement fund shall fix the charge,
without interest, against the employees, annuitants, and pensioners, for the
amount hereafter to be paid on the salaries received and for which no deduc
tions were made previous to the date of the beginning of the contributions de
termined in article 7, paragraph (a), of Law No. 11232, and until the 30 years’
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LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
service required for the ordinary retirement are completed, and which shall
be calculated:
(a)
At 8 per cent on the salaries received during the five years immediately
preceding the date on which the contributions of the employee began.
(&) At 10 per cent on those received between the 5 and 10 years preceding.
(c) At 12 per cent on those received previous to that.
A rt . 19. The charge to which the preceding article refers shall be paid off
monthly until extinguished:
(a)
By an additional deduction of 3 per cent of the salary of an employee
up to 500 pesos, of 5 per cent from 501 to 1,000 pesos, and of 7 per cent above
1,000 pesos.
(&)
By a deduction of 10 per cent on the retirement annuities and pensions
when the seniority to be covered is 15 years or less and 15 per cent when such
seniority is more than 15 years.
A rt . 20. In the case of employees who under article 11 avail themselves of
the benefits of this law, a charge must be made, in addition to the one referred
to in article 18, for the amount of the deductions of 13 per cent, plus interest
compounded quarterly, on their last salary, from the time the employment
ceased up to the ratification of tlrs law.
The charge shall be added to the one which is fixed for the covering of
seniority deductions, to be paid in the manner established in paragraph (6)
of article 19. The employees shall also pay the amount referred to in article 7,
section (&) of Law No. 11232.
A rt . 21. Banking enterprises shall pay, as their contributions to cover senior
ity deficits, an additional 2 per cent on the salaries referred to in article 17,
paragraph (e).
Art. 22. The banking enterprises subject to the regulations of this law shall
be required to make the deductions referred to in article 17, paragraphs (&),
(c), and (d), and those necessitated by the loan service authorized by article
23 and the additional insurance of the same, from the salaries of the personnel
in their charge and shall deposit them, together with the contributions fixed
by articles 17, paragraph (e ), 18 and 21 in the Bank of the Argentine Nation
to the order of the fund, from the first to the fifth day of each month, under
penalty of a fine of 200 pesos for each day after notice from the board of
directors. No deduction may be made from this amount for any reason.
A rt . 23. All the resources of the fund shall be deposited in the Bank of the
Argentine Nation except the sum the board of directors fix for current payments.
Fifty per cent of the resources of the fund shall be invested in national bonds
and in other securities having the subsidiary guaranty of the Nation, and the
other 50 per cent in mortgage loans to the employees included in the benefits
of this institution, for the sole purpose of acquiring or constructing homes for
themselves, and the loan must be combined with insurance to cancel the amount
still due in case of death.
Seventy per cent of the total invested in mortgage loans must be in loans that
do not exceed 30,000 pesos. The proportion of the loans, interest, and other
conditions relative thereto shall be determined by the board of directors with
the approval of the executive authority. When there are funds available because
of lack of requests for mortgage loans, they may be invested temporarily in the
income securities referred to above.
Art. 24. In case of the retirement of the employee or the pensioning of his
heirs the fund shall retain from the monthly amount a sum sufficient to cover
the loan charges and the insurance premium referred to in the preceding
article.
A rt . 25. Property encumbered by mortgage obligations under this law can
be attached only under the conditions and on complying with the requirements
fixed by Laws Nos. 8272 and 10676.
Administration of the fund
Art. 26. The administration of the fund established by this law shall be in
charge of a board of directors, consisting of a chairman appointed by the
executive authority with the consent of the Senate, two official representatives
of the banks, two of the employees, and an equal number of alternates for
each side.
The chairman and a majority of the official representatives and their alter
nates must be Argentinian citizens over 25 years of age.
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101
In the election of their representatives each of the banks shall have a number
of votes in proportion to the total salaries and wages paid during the year
immediately preceding.
The representatives of the employees shall be elected by direct secret vote of
said employees in the manner determined in the regulation thereon.
Any interference by the banks or their agents in the election proceedings is
prohibited, and the board of directors may levy a fine of from 500 to 2,000
pesos for each violation of this rule.
The executive authority shall regulate the election proceedings under the
management of the board of directors of the fund, with the assistance of the
inspection bureau of the Department of Justice (Inspection de Justieia).
A rt . 27. The representatives of the banks and of the bank employees elected
to the board of directors of the fund must belong to different banking in
stitutions.
Art. 28. The term of office of the chairman and other members of the board
of directors shall be three years. The board shall take the measures necessary
for the election of the members who are to take the place of those whose terms
expire, following the procedure and the form established in article 26, so that
the election returns may be approved a month before the regular change.
The directors shall continue in the exercise of their duties until those
who are to replace them have been chosen.
In cases of vacancies due to resignation, death, or any other cause, regular
elections shall be called for the election of regular and alternate representa
tives of the banking enterprises only when there are two or more officers to be
elected. Under the same circumstances an election shall be held for choosing
representatives of the bank employees.
A rt . 29. The chairman and other members of the board of directors shall
receive the renumeration fixed in the budget of the fund, and it shall be paid
in proportion to the meetings attended.
Art. 30. The chairman is the legal representative of the fund, with a voice
in the deliberations of the board and a vote in case of a tie. The employees
of the fund shall be under his immediate orders, but their appointment and
removal shall be by the board of directors.
A rt . 31. The board of directors shall have legal authority through its
chairman or special agencies constituted for the purpose, to bring before the
national executive authority or administrative authorities such claims and
actions as may be proper as well as to appear before the courts in the cases
which may be brought against them.
The representative appointed by the board, or in lieu thereof the chairman
personally, shall be qualified to bring before courts of justice, by means of writ
of execution, the proper actions to enforce the provisions of this law and the
penalties imposed by the authorities of the fund in accordance with the
law.
For the purpose of establishing legal authority, the decisions of the board and
of the chairman, as the case may be, entered in the minutes and approved,
constitute a public instrument.
A rt . 32. In the first half of the month of December of each year, the board
of directors shall appoint a director to serve as alternate for the chairman
and to exercise his functions in case of any temporary absence, and in case of
a permanent vacancy until the vacancy is filled. When the alternate chairman is
absent, the board shall appoint a special one from its own members with the
same powers and duties.
Art. 33. The board shall be governed by the rules and regulations which it
makes for that purpose.
It shall with the approval of the executive authority fix annually the budget
of expenditures, which shall continue in force the following year until the
approval of the budget which is to replace it.
It shall collect and administer the funds in accordance with the present
law and the budget which is in force, drawing up an annual general balance
sheet, which shall be published once in the Boletin Oficial, and a verified quar
terly statement of numbers and settlements, which shall be distributed to the
banks, so that it may be posted in a conspicuous place where it may be examined
by the personnel.
All the expenses of this fund shall be audited by the National General
Accounting Office.
A rt . 34. In case the interested parties take exception to any decision of
the board of directors relative to the application of this law, an appeal from
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LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
the said decision may be taken within 30 days after notification of the same
in due form, if (the party) lives in the Federal Capital; within 60 days if he
lives outside the capital; and within 90 days if he lives in a foreign country.
The appeal shall always be granted by the Federal Chamber ( Cdmara Federa!) of the capital, which after hearing the appellant and the representative
designated by the fund shall give its decision, without further recourse, basing
such decision on the record of the administrative proceedings and other records
which it may officially request for better information.
Art. 35. The interpretation of this law, as well as the decision of any matters
relative to the purpose of the law and not provided for herein shall devolve
upon the board of directors.
Art. 36. The expenses of administration of the fund shall be defrayed from
the resources created by this law, the total thereof not to exceed 3 per cent
of the amount received by virtue of article 17 during the previous year.
Retirement annuities
Art. 37. The employees to whom this law refers who have contributed to
the resources of the fund shall be entitled to a retirement annuity.
Art. 38, The retirement annuity to which the preceding article refers shall be:
(a) Ordinary; (6) For disability; (c) For voluntary retirement.
Ordinary retirement
Art. 39. Those employees who have a minimum of 30 years* continuous or
discontinuous service and who are 50 years old are entitled to the ordinary
retirement under the conditions established in this law.
Art. 40. The employees who have served 30 years and are 50 years of age
and who continue in the exercise of their duties shall be entitled to an increase
in the amount of their retirement annuity of 1.5 per cent for each year over
said time up to a maximum of 90 per cent. This increase shall be paid only
for the years subsequent to the promulgation of this law.
Art. 41. The amount of the ordinary retirement annuity shall be calculated
on the basis of the average salary received during the last five years of serv
ice—within the limit of 1,500 pesos—and in the following proportion: Up to
500 pesos, 75 per cent; from 500 to 1,000 pesos, 70 per cent; from 1,000 to 1,500
pesos, 65 per cent.
Art. 42. The employee who has rendered the minimum of 30 years’ service
and is 45 years of age and desires to retire is entitled to the ordinary retirement
annuity reduced 5 per cent for each year he lacks of being 50.
Retirement annuity for disability
Art. 43. A retirement annuity for disability, under the conditions in the
following article, is paid to an employee who after 10 years’ service is declared
physically or mentally unable to continue in the service of his employment or
other position compatible with his usual ability or proved training. Enterprises
and entities subject to this law may not discharge an employee for disability
pending a final decision relative to his retirement for that cause. When the
decision is negative, the respective enterprise must keep him in its employ and
give him an equivalent position which is suited to his ability, and he is entitled,
pending decision of his case, to his regular salary. If the employee does not
petition for retirement within six months after becoming incapacitated, or after
being required to do so by the respective enterprise, he shall lose the right
granted him by this article.
Art. 44. The amount of the retirement annuity for disability shall be calcu
lated on the basis of the average salary received during the last 5 years’ service
and subject to the scale of the ordinary retirement annuity, at the rate of 3*4
per cent of the amount of the ordinary retirement for each year of service up
to its maximum.
Art. 45. An employee who is incapacitated for his work before having com
pleted 10 years’ service and can not claim the benefits granted in the following
article, shall be entitled to as many months’ average salary as he has years of
contributions to his credit.
Art. 46. Regardless of the length of service any employee or worker who is
permanently disabled in the line of duty and from a cause clearly and solely
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
103
arising out of the service shall be entitled to a special retirement annuity
equivalent to 40 per cent fit the salary he was receiving or of the average salary
reserved during the past 5 years’ service, plus a bonus of 2 per cent for each
year of service up to the maximum.
Voluntary retirement
Abt. 47. The employee who has more than 20 years’ service but has not
served the required number of years for the ordinary retirement may claim the
voluntary retirement annuity. This retirement annuity shall be calculated at
the rate of 2 per cent of the ordinary retirement for each year of service
rendered.
Pensions
Abt. 48. In the same cases in which, under this law, one is entitled to receive
an ordinary or special retirement annuity, and the employee dies, the widow,
the disabled widower, the children, or in lieu thereof the parents, or in lieu
thereof the unmarried sisters of the deceased if supported by him, shall be
entitled to request a pension under the conditions given below.
If the deceased was already receiving a retirement annuity the persons
enumerated above shall be entitled to a pension under the conditions estab
lished, no other proceedings being necessary except to prove their lego I rights,
establishing the existence of the retirement annuity in conformity with this
law, and complying with the requirements thereof.
Art. 49. The persons mentioned in article 48 shall be entitled to receive a
pension from the day of the death of the employee, and it shall be granted in
the following manner and order: 1. To the widow or disabled widower, con
currently with the children; 2. To the children alone; 3. To the widow or
disabled widower, concurrently with the legitimate or illegitimate parents of
the deceased employee, provided they were wholly dependent upon him for
support; 4. To the legitimate or illegitimate parents if they fulfill the condi
tions specified in the preceding paragraph; 5. To the unmarried sisters of the
deceased employee under the same conditions as the parents; 6. Illegitimate
children who are recognized, or legitimated by judicial decision, shall enjoy
the same rights as legitimate children.
Art. 50. The amount of the pension shall be equivalent to 50 per cent of the
retirement annuity which the employee was receiving or was entitled to receive.
One half of the pension shall go to the widow or disabled widower if there
are children or parents of the deceased; the other half shall be divided per
capita among them.
I f there are no children nor parents the total amount o f the pension shall go
to the widow.
In cases where the pension goes to the widow, widower, or children, if the
right granted to one of the said parties is extinguished his share shall be
added proportionally to that of the survivors included in the benefits of this law.
Art. 51. The pension is for life, and the right to receive it is lost only for
the causes established in this law.
Art. 52. The persons enumerated in article 48, whose relative died with less
than 10 years’ service computable for retirement purposes, shall be entitled
to compensation equivalent to as many months’ average salary as he has years
of contributions to his credit.
Art. 53. The pension right is extinguished: (a) In the case of the surviving
spouse and parents, when they remarry; (&) In the case of the sons, when
they reach the age of 18, unless they are totally incapacitated for work; (c) In
the case of the unmarried daughters or sisters, when they marry or reach tie
age of 22 and are not totally incapacitated for work; id) In general, for
immorality or dishonesty.
Abt. 54. The wife of the employee shall not be entitled to a pension if at the
time of his death she was divorced from him, due to misconduct on her part, or
was actually separated from him without wishing to be reunited. In this case
the pension shall go to the persons who are entitled to the same under this law.
Abt. 55. If an employee in whom a pension right is vested dies, leaving orphan
children of different marriages, the pension shall be divided equally among them
and shall be paid to the respective legal representatives.
A rt. 56. Retirement annuity and pension papers shall be executed on ordinary
paper.
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I_4BOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Other btnZfii*
Art. 57. Employees who are discharged because their services are fio longei
required or for reasons of economy, because of closing of the business, or for
any cause other than that expressed in article 67, shall be entitled to the fol
lowing, unless under this law they are entitled to greater benefits: (ct) To the
return of their contributions with cumulative annual interest of 5 per cent, when
their term of service is not over 15 years; (b) to a retirement annuity equiva
lent to 2 per cent of the ordinary retirement for each year of service rendered
if they have served more than 15 years, and their discharge is not due to a
cause imputable to the employee.
Art. 58. Employees who voluntarily retire after 10 years’ service in enterprises
subject to this lawTshall be entitled to the return of their contributions without
interest.
Art. 59. After return of the contributions has been made in any of the cases
under the preceding articles the employees soliciting said return permanently
lose [credit for] the years of service rendered previous to said return, unless
upon reentry in any of the institutions included in the retirement system
created by the national laws the employee returns his contributions to the bank
employees’ fund with 6 per cent annual interest, compounded quarterly.
General provisions
Art. 60. For the purposes of the retirement annuity only the services actually
rendered shall be considered, even if they were discontinuous, during the re
quired number of years. In no case shall services rendered before the employee
is 18 years of age be counted.
When the remuneration for the work has been wholly or partially by the day,
one year of service shall be counted for each 250 days actually worked, and if
the remuneration was by the hour it shall be computed at the rate of one day
for each eight hours actually worked.
Art. 61. When the disability is permanent the retirement annuity shall have
the same character.
In other cases the beneficiaries shall be subject to the periodical revisions
which the board of directors of the fund may order within 10 years after the
granting of the retirement, after which time the retirement annuities shall be
considered permanent.
Art. 62. Retirement annuities for disability shall not be granted except after
a report from a doctor or doctors designated by the board of directors as to the
causes and importance of the alleged physical or mental disability.
A rt . 63. All benefits established by this law shall be granted by the board of
directors of the fund, to which all claims should be made. Its decisions are
appealable in accordance with the provisions of article 34.
A r t . 64. Retirement annuities granted shall be paid from the day the inter
ested party leaves the service, up to which date payment of contributions must
be made.
Art. 65. The right to claim a retirement annuity or pension expires after
five years.
Payment of the retirement annuity or pension shall cease if the beneficiary
moves to a foreign country without notifying the board of directors.
Art. 66. The retirement annuity is for life and the right thereto is lost only
for the causes expressed in this law.
Art. 67. Whoever, being entitled to a retirement annuity, has a criminal
charge pending [against him], and the deed with which he is charged carries
a penalty of arrest or imprisonment for more than 3 years, may not claim the
retirement annuity until after the termination of the same, but his heirs shali
receive the pension to which they would be entitled under this law.
In case the retirement annuity is granted subsequently, the retired employee
shall be paid the difference between the amount of the retirement annuity and
the total sum received by his family in the form of a pension.
Abt. 68. Commutation or pardon shall not reinstate the rights lost as a con
sequence of the provisions of this law.
Art. 69. Those who have obtained the ordinary retirement annuity or volun
tary retirement annuity may reenter the employment of a bank. In this case
the retired employee
cease to receive the retirement annuity and shall
receive only tlie salary or ti new employee. If he leaves his employment he
shall again receive his retirement annuity, without any right, however, to claim
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
105
an increase in the same, for which reason the contributions required of the
newly employed person in accordance with article 17 shall not be required
of him.
Art. 70. Retired employees to whom the conditions of the preceding article
apply and who owe for seniority deficits must continue paying them when
they reenter the banking service, in accordance with articles 18 and 19.
Art. 71. Two or more retirement annuities granted by retirement systems
governed by the laws of the Nation shall not be granted to one person. The
interested party must choose one of them, his right to the others being extin
guished thereby.
Special provisions
Art. 72. The benefits of this law shall be granted, in general, 90 days follow
ing its promulgation.
Art. 73. The first election of the board of directors in accordance with the
provisions of article 26 shall take place at the conclusion of the term of the
present board, which shall continue in service until the new authorities take
charge.
Art. 74. The banking enterprises to which articles 4 and 5 of the present
law refer may make their contributions in not more than 36 monthly payments.
Art. 75. The fund shall make a complete census of the employees included
under this law within five years from the date of its establishment, the result
of which shall be sent to Congress, proposing, in such case, any modifications
it deems proper.
Art. 76. The private banks and their employees which are now affiliated with
the fund established by Law No. 11232 shall continue to form a part of it.
Art. 77. The board of directors of the fund shall prepare the regulation of
this law, submitting it for the approval of the executive authority within 60
days after the promulgation of the present law.
Art. 78. All provisions contrary to this law are hereby repealed.
PROHIBITION OF MATCHES CONTAINING PHOSPHORUS
LAW NO. 11127 OF JUNE, 8, 1921
ArtICuT
The manufacture, importation, or sale of matches containing white
or yellow p
i s
prohibited.
Art. 2. V iolator of tlle preceding provision shall be punished by a fine of
from 500 to 1,000 peso£ (national currency), or to imprisonment of from 3 to 6
months, and in case of a r£££tition of the offense the establishment or factory
shall be closed for 6 months.
Art. 3. Owners, partners, directors, oi* managers of factories or establishments
which manufacture, import, or sell matches Of which the tip material contains
white or yellow phosphorus shall be directly liable and subject to the penalties
specified in this law.
Art. 4. Funds derived from the collection of fines uh£er this law shall be
assigned to the National Council of Education.
Art. 5. Procedure for the application of the fines fixed by this law shall be
governed by Law No. 9658 of August 28, 1915.
Art. 6. This law takes effect throughout the territory of the Nation on Jan
uary 1, 1922.
COOPERATIVE SOCIETIES
LAW NO. 11388 OF DECEMBER 20, 1926
A rticle 1. Cooperative societies shall be governed by the provisions of this
law.
Art. 2. Only those societies shall be known as “ cooperatives” which in
addition to this name have the following qualifications:
1. The addition of the word “ limited ” to the name.
2. No statutory limit to the number of members, nor to the number of
shares* nor to the capital stock, nor to the life of the society.
3. The shares shall be nominal and indivisible, and transferable only with
the consent of the board of directors under the conditions determined by the
by-laws. All shares, when paid up, shall have the same value.
106
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
4. Each member shall have only a single vote regardless of the number of
shares he may possess.
5. The by-laws shall state the conditions for admission, resignation, or
expulsion of members. The members shall have the right to resign from the
society at the time fixed in the by-laws, or, in the absence thereof, at the end
of each fiscal year, giving 10 days’ notice.
6. When the by-laws of the society require an initiation fee, it shall not be in
creased as a contribution to the society’s reserve funds.
7. Members leaving the society for any reason whatsoever shall have no
individual right to the reserve funds.
8. In case of the dissolution of the society, the reserve funds shall be
turned over to the National or the Provincial treasury, according to the actual
domicile of the society, to be used for the economic education of the community.
9. No advantage or privilege shall be accorded to the organizers, founders,
and directors, nor shall they be given preference to any part of the capital.
10. Remuneration by the payment of commissions, or in any other way, for
getting new members or selling shares is prohibited.
11. Societies shall not have as their principal or supplemental purpose the
propaganda of either political, religious, nationalistic, or local ideas, nor
impose, as a condition of membership, affiliation of members with religious
organizations, political parties, or nationalistic or local groups.
12. They shall not extend credit for purchases of consumers’ goods.
13. Only members of the society may participate in its benefits.
14. The board of directors, without excluding any of the members, may at
any time order the retirement of capital stock of the members having the
greater number of shares. If all the members have an equal number of
shares, the retirement shall be made pro rata.
15. When money loans are made to the members, no sum reducing the
amount of the loan, whether it is called a premium, a bonus, or any other
name, shall be collected, except the payment of interest, if such has been
fixed. The interest shall not exceed 1 per cent of the rate collected by official
banks in similar transactions, and shall not be increased during the term of
the loans. The loans may be canceled at any time by the borrower, without
further payment of interest.
16. Of the net profits earned there may be paid upon the operating capital
in transactions that are not of credit, interest which does not exceed 1 per
cent of the discount rate of the Bank of the Nation.
17. Of the net profits earned each year at least 5 per cent sh^Tl be set aside
in the reserve fund and 90 per cent shall be distributed ajn^ng the members as
follows: (a) In consumers’ cooperative sections or societies, in proportion to the
purchases of each member; (b) in workers’ proactive societies, in proportion
to the work performed by each one; (c) in cooperative labor societies and work
shops, in proportion to the amount of the operations of each member with the
society; (d) in cooperative credit societies, in proportion to the capital.
18. The financial account? and reports of the board of directors shall be
made up annually and Submitted to the general meeting, which shall take
place within three Pionths following the close of the fiscal year.
19. Notice of the general meeting shall be given at least eight days in
advance, ip the manner provided by each society in its by-laws, and the meeting
shall t&ite place one hour after the time fixed in the announcement regardless
of the number of members present, unless before that time one-half of the
members, plus one, have already assembled.
20. The by-laws may prohibit voting by proxy. If they authorize voting
by proxy, the representation must be by a member and he may not represent
more than two members.
21. When there are more than 10,000 members, there shall be substituted for
the general meeting an assembly of delegates chosen at electoral assemblies
by sections or by districts, in the manner determined by the by-laws. The by
laws may provide similar procedure for the representation of members who re
side in localities distant from the place of the general meeting.
22. For the control of the society’s accounts, the general meeting shall elect
a treasurer and an alternate. Likewise an auditing committee shall be elected,
the number of whose members shall be twice that of the board of directors and
auxiliary to it.
A rt. 3. Cooperative societies may enlarge their scope and unite with another
or others of the same nature by a majority vote at the regular meeting, pro
vided that such business was made a part of the order of the day. The expan
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
107
sion of their object or their union shall be registered as specified in articles 5
and 6 of this law.
Art. 4. Cooperative societies may federate by a majority vote of the regular
meeting, in order to form a cooperative union and to work in common, accord
ing to the principles fixed in this law.
Art. 5. Cooperative societies may be formed legally without the necessity
of a public document, their papers being drawn up in duplicate, signed by those
forming the society, and copied in a special register kept by the Ministry of
Agriculture.
A rt. 6. The presentation of a list of the members, a copy of the by-laws,
and evidence of the organization of the society, either in operations or bank
deposits of a twentieth part of the capital subscribed, shall be sufficient to
obtain recognition and authorization for a cooperative society. Societies con
stituted in accordance with the provisions of this law shall be authorized to
function within 90 days from the date of their petition.
Art. 7. Minors over 18 years of age and married women may join cooperative
societies without paternal or marital authority and by themselves dispose of
their interest in the same.
Art. 8. Cooperative societies already in existence should conform to the pro
visions of this law within one year from its promulgation, if they desire to
continue the title of “ cooperative.** Those which do not so conform shall be
liable to the penalty fixed in the following article.
Art. 9. After the date of the promulgation of this law the use of the word
“ cooperative ” in the name of any society or enterprise which has not complied
with its provisions shall be prohibited. Violation of this prohibition shall be
punished by a fine of from 500 to 2,000 pesos (national currency) and by the
closing of the establishment, offices, places of sale, and other public appurten
ances of the society or enterprise, if the violator does not cease the unlawful
use of the word “ cooperative.”
Art. 10. The Ministry of Agriculture shall have the public supervision of
cooperative societies and shall examine and certify the balance sheets submitted
by them, and shall establish an information service for and concerning the
cooperative movement in the Republic.
Art. 11. Articles 392, 393, and 394 of the Commercial Code and any other
provision which is contrary to this law are hereby repealed. For societies
formed according to the rules of this law, the provisions of the Commercial Code
concerning corporations shall apply when not contrary hereto.
Art. 12. This law shall be incorporated under a special title in the Com
mercial Code.
NATIONAL AND PROVINCIAL LABOR OFFICES
NATIONAL DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
LAW NO. 8999 OF OCTOBER 8, 1912
A rticle 1. The present General Bureau of Labor shall, after the promulga
tion of this law, be called the “ National Department of Labor” ; it shall be
under the Ministry of the Interior, and its functions shall be to prepare all
labor legislation, collecting, coordinating, and publishing the data relative
thereto, and to organize the work of inspection and supervision under the laws
passed by Congress on the subject.
Art. 2. The department shall be composed of three principal divisions (a)
Legislation; (6) statistics; (c ) inspection and supervision.
Art. 3. The department shall establish a direct and permanent inspection and
supervision service in the industrial and commercial establishments of the capital
of the Republic and the National Territories, for the purpose of securing com
pliance with the laws relative to labor.
Art. 4. Duly authorized labor inspectors have the right during working
hours to enter all places where an industry or business is carried on. The
proprietor’s refusal thereof shall amount to a violation of this law, which shall
be punished by a fine of from 100 to 500 pesos, without prejudice to proceeding
by forcible entry on a writ previously obtained by the head of the department.
Art. 5. The department shall organize and have under its direction, under the
form of management it considers most suitable, a workers’ employment bureau,
for the purpose of coordinating the demand for and supply of labor, and also
the inspection and supervision of private employment agencies.
108
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGENTINA
Abt. 6. The department shall be in charge of a director named by the
executive authority.
His duties shall be to secure compliance with the laws relative to labor; to
mediate in conflicts between capital and labor; to recommend appointments,
promotions, punishments, and dismissals of employees; to request, whenever
necessary, the cooperation of the different branches of the administration, these
being in duty bound to grant it; to publish a bulletin which shall be dis
tributed free of charge to employers’ and workers’ organizations.
In case of the absence or disability of the director, his place shall be taken
by the chief of the legislative division, and in his absence by any official
designated by the executive authority.
Art. 7. Whenever conflicts between capital and labor require it, the director
shall call together and preside over “ labor councils,” composed in each case of
an equal number of employers and of workers. These councils, in the per
formance of their duties, shall have access to all the data required for arriving
at their decisions, and such a decision shall end the mediation of the department
in the case submitted for its decision.
A rt. 8. Any persons to which this law refers who refuse to furnish data
or information required by the department for the performance of its duties,
or who furnish data or information which is false, shall incur a fine of from
100 to 150 pesos for the first offense and from 500 to 1,000 pesos for subsequent
offenses (the amount of such fines to go to the school fund) or, in default
thereof, equivalent imprisonment according to the Penal Code.
The department shall not divulge nor publish the names of the persons,
enterprises, or societies to which the data or information refers. Any employee
or agent of the national department of labor who reveals industrial or com
mercial secrets of which he may have acquired knowledge by reason of his
employment therein shall incur the penalty provided in the Penal Code for
revealing secrets.
Art. 9. The resources of the department shall be the annual appropriation
under the budget law, the proceeds from its publications, and the gifts received
for the promotion of the services which the department is designed to render.
Art. 10. The department, as the representative of the State, is hereby au
thorized to receive by inheritance, legacy, or donation any property or sums of
money to be applied to particular services or for the establishment of founda
tions or institutions directly connected with the purposes of its creation. When
such gifts are conditional, legislative approval shall be required for acceptance.
Art. 11. The penalties mentioned in articles 4 and 8 shall be imposed by the
department of labor, with appeal to the ordinary courts of justice.
REGULATORY DECREE OF JANUARY 2, 1913
A rticle 1. Law No. 8999 shall be administered in accordance with the pro
visions of this regulatory decree.
Art. 2. The National Department of Labor is under the ministry of the interior
and is composed of three divisions: Legislation, statistics, and inspection and
supervision.
Art. 3. That the studies and work of these various divisions may be carried
on as prescribed by this regulation, the department shall have the duty of pre
paring material for labor legislation, of seeing that labor laws enacted by
Congress are enforced, and of facilitating the placement of unemployed workers
by registering and making known offers of and applications for employment.
Art. 4. The department shall be in charge of a director, and each of the
divisions shall have its technical chief with the personnel specified by the budget
law. In case of the director’s absence or disability, his place shall be taken by
the chief of the legislative division, or, in his absence, by whatever official
the Executive Authority may name on each occasion.22
Art. 5. The bureau charged with keeping a register of positions for un
employed workers shall form a part of the division of inspection and super
vision.
22By a decree of Jan. 14, 1918, it is provided that in case of the absence or disability
of the director and his legal substitute the chief of the legislative division, the head of
the division o f inspection and supervision shall fill the place of the director of the said
department, and by a decree of Oct. 30, 1919, that in the absence of the latter the head
of the division of statistics shall fill the place.
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
109
Art. 6. The powers and duties of the director are:
(1) To promote, direct, and adopt, with the authorization of the ministry,
all measures conducive to the better enforcement and efficacy of the laws
relating to labor now in force or which may hereafter be enacted; to submit
proposals for legislation to the Executive Authority.
(2) To coordinate, order, and inspect the work of the various bureaus com
posing the department, to distribute the work among them according to its
nature, and to require the reports from them which he may deem prgper.
(3) To recommend appointments, promotions, punishments, and dismissals of
the employees of the department, being empowered to order their immediate
suspension when the exigencies of the service so require, and until final decision
is made in each case.
(4) To offer his mediation in forming the labor councils referred to in article
7 of the law.
(5) To call together and preside over said councils whenever his intervention
is sought and accepted in disputes arising between capital and labor; to arrange
the means and procedure necessary for collecting all the data by which concilia
tion of the parties may be facilitated, and to order the publication of the settle
ment terminating the dispute.
(6) Through the Ministry of the Interior, to request of the other branches
of the administration any cooperation he may need for the greater success of
the services intrusted to the body of which he has charge.
Relations with the National Department of Health shall be direct, for the
purpose of inspecting industrial and commercial establishments with regard
to the health of workers and the sanitation of the workrooms.
(7) To represent the department in all acts and relations arising from the
duties intrusted to him.
(8) To accept, for the executive authority, any inheritances, legacies, or
donations made to the department and property or sums of money given to it
to be applied to particular services or for the establishment of foundations or
institutions directly connected with the purposes of its creation.
Whenever the donations are conditional, acceptance shall be subject to the
approval of Congress.
(9) To impose the proper penalties in the cases provided for by articles 4 and
8 of the law, after the fact is duly approved and on the advice of the legislative
division. The decision rendered shall also be signed by the secretary of the
department.
(10) To decide petitions for exceptions to the Sunday rest law in cases which
manifestly do not come within the terms of the law and the regulatory decree,
referring to the Ministry of the Interior, with the data on the ease, only such
petitions as are of special importance because of the interests involved or
which are based on considerations of public order or are found to be expressly
authorized.
(11) Petitions based on cases of force majeure or of necessities for which the
industry or business can not normally provide shall be decided by the director
whenever, because of the day or hour on which such circumstances occur and
because of the urgency of the case, directly verified by inspectors of the
department, they can not be taken up and disposed of by the ministry nor post
poned without serious damage to the public interest or to the industry itself,
or without imminent risk of damage.
(12) To make any reports required of him by the ministry.
(13) To present an annual statement on the activities of the department in
administering the services under its charge, indicating also any administrative
or legislative measures necessary to remedy deficiencies or to provide for new
needs.
(14) To request of the judges the appropriate order in the cases provided for
in article 4 of the law.
A rt . 7. The duties of the legislative division are:
(1) To observe and study the results of the application of the labor laws in
force and to point out any modifications advised by its own experience or by
that of other countries with respect to analogous laws.
(2) To collect the data required for the preparation of any laws of a social
nature which may be needed.
100691°—30----- 8
110
LABOR LEGISLATION OP ARGENTINA
(3) To take charge of the care and formation of the department’s library,
endeavoring to accumulate all the publications on social legislation of the
countries which are the most advanced and best organized in this respect, and
also keeping up to date the bibliographical information on these questions.
(4) To ascertain the present situation and the rate of progress of our insti
tutions of savings, credit, and insurance in their relation to the working classes
and also the advantages afforded to said classes in the solution of their disputes
by the existing institutions of conciliation and arbitration.
(5) [Repealed by Law No. 9667.]
(6) To concern itself, in general, with all those phenomena or institutions
relating directly or indirectly to the well-being of the working classes and the
knowledge or adoption of which may tend to elevate their moral or material
level.
(7) To issue any reports or to make any studies ordered by the director.
(8) To gather and classify, by subjects, the conclusions of domestic and
foreign jurisprudence concerning the various questions relating to capital and
labor.
A bt. 8. The division o f statistics is to compile, summarize, and annotate
all the data regarding:
(1) Commerce and industry in general within the Republic; articles of
which the trusts or other combinations of capital and commercial operations
have a monopoly, and the influence which these facts exercise over prices,
and also the influence of customs duties on the price of articles of common
consumption.
(2) The workers, including: (a) Number of workers in the different occu
pations; sex, age, nationality, and civil status thereof; (6) unemployment
among workers in the various occupations; (c) workers employed in temporary
occupations; (d) wages; (e) working hours; (f ) work of women and children;
(g) home work.
(3) Labor disputes: (a) Strikes and lockouts, their causes, duration, and
results; (5) mediation, conciliation, and arbitration.
(4) Labor hazards: (a) Occupational diseases; (6) industrial accidents,
and their classification.
(5) Labor organizations: (a) Trade-unions, mutual-aid societies, and leagues
of defense (sociedades de resist encia) ; (6) recreational and educational socie*
ties; (c) workers’ political groups.
(6) The workman’s life: (a) The worker’s family and its budget; (6)
workers’ housing; (c) prices of articles of prime necessity; (d) contribution
of the different members of the family to the family income; (e ) illness and
mortality among workers.
(7) Education and morality of workers: (a) Adult and industrial night
schools; (&) alcoholism; (c) crimes.
(8) Social insurance: (a) Sickness insurance; (6) industrial-accident insur
ance; (c) old age and invalidity insurance; (d) insurance against unemploy
ment and shutdowns; (e) insurance of private employees; ( f ) maternity insur
ance.
(9) Pauperism and thrift among workers.
(10) Immigration and emigration, in their social and economic aspect.
(11) Current prices, wholesale and retail, of the articles of prime necessity.
(12) Workers of transportation enterprises and of public works.
(13) Labor statistics of foreign countries.
(14) Statistics of all other branches of industrial and commercial life relat
ing to workmen.
(15) Statistical work ordered by the Ministry [of the Interior].
A bt. 9. The division of inspection and supervision shall:
(1)
Organize, maintain, and keep constantly in operation, through its per
sonnel, the service of direct inspection and supervision of the industrial and
commercial establishments in the Federal capital and the National Territories,
in order to see that there is strict compliance with the law regulating the
work of women and children, the law on Sunday rest, and any laws which
Congress may hereafter enact. As to the first of these laws inspectors shall
see that there is prompt compliance with those requirements intended to assure
the health, safety, morals, instruction, and necessary rest of minors and women.
They shall make affidavits as to any violations which they may discover,
adding all the details and evidence which may tend to prove such violations.
TEX T OF LABOR LEGISLATION
111
Attested copies of these documents in due form shall be sent to the chief of
police for the imposition of the proper fine.28
(2) The inspectors shall also visit the National Territories to inspect indus
trial and commercial establishments operating therein which employ women and
children, and if they find that these provisions are not being respected, shall
suggest to their owners, through the police authority, that they conform to
the provisions of the law, such owners remaining liable to the penalties
incurred thereby.
(3) For the purposes of such inspection and supervision the labor and health
inspectors may enter all places where any industry or business is conducted.
They shall be provided with credentials issued by the director of the depart
ment, and may not visit such establishments except during working hours.
(4) If employers or owners of industrial or commercial houses should not
permit the inspectors to enter, the latter shall limit themselves to making a
record of the fact, drawing up the proper affidavit, which shall be signed by
two witnesses, the inspector and the employer, if he consent to do so. Thi*
affidavit shall serve as sufficient evidence for the imposition of the p r ^ r
and for the request for a writ of entry. The chief of the division ~*nau transmit
it to the director with his recommendation.
(5) The inspectors shall also inspect and super^ge an private employment
agencies of the Federal capital with the pu**^ge 0f ascertaining whether they
conform to the conditions prescribed
the ordinances governing them and
whether abuses are committed
dealing with workers seeking employment.
Such inspectors shall report Tiny irregularities or violations they may observe
t°Pk
i
>re^ * t shall be transmitted to the proper official.
(6) Labor lPSp^tors jn performing their duties of inspection and supervision
or other ta*^s intrusted to them shall comply with the instructions of the
chief of ciie division.
L jbt. 10. Inspectors may require of the owners of industrial or commercial
establishments and of the workers all the information and data which they
may consider necessary to the performance of their duties and any affidavits
or reports prepared by them shall be accepted as true until proved to the con
trary. Inspectors shall require of employers presentation of the work rules of
the establishment, the register prescribed by article 3 of Law No. 5291,!14 the
certificates of school attendance during the week of the minors who have not
yet completed their compulsory schooling under the law governing this matter,
and the labor contracts, if any.
Inspectors may order the immediate withdrawal of any children found to
come under the prohibition of articles 1 and 2 of Law No. 5291w and also of
those who have been shown by medical examination to be employed in work
which is injurious to their health and normal development. Inspectors shall
report in detail to the chief of the division as to the adoption of such measure,
and the latter shall bring it to the knowledge of the director of the department
for his approval.
Abt. 11. If any dispute arises between employers and workers concerning a
labor matter, the director of the department, in case he is not asked by the
parties to intervene, shall offer his mediation in order to promote a peaceful
settlement in the way provided by article 7 of the law.
A bt. 12. When a dispute or disagreement has occurred, either of the parties
may lay it before the director of thj National Department of Labor and solicit
his mediation. A brief shall be submitted, containing a concise exposition of
the subject matter of the dispute and the steps taken to settle it.
A rt. 13. The director of the department shall send a copy of the brief to the
other party, fixing a reasonable time within which said party may state
whether or not he accepts his good offices. If the reply is affirmative, it shall
be accompanied by an equally concise brief in reply to the first.
A rt . 14. The employers* brief shall be signed by the employer or employers
concerned, or by any one of them who is authorized to speak for the others.
The workers, on their part, shall proceed in the same way. Each party shall
swear to the genuineness of his authorization. When a corporation is in
volved, tiie petition or answer shall be signed by the person empowered so to
do by the by-laws of said corporation.
"T h is procedure la modified by Law No. 9658, of Aug. 28, 1915, which provides that
such affidavits shall serve as the basis for special judicial trials, in which a representative
of the Department of Labor acts as prosecutor.
** Superseded by Law No. 11317.
112
LABOR LEGISLATION OP ARG E N T IN A
Art. 15. When the director’s intervention has been solicited or accepted he
shall proceed with all possible diligence to form a “ labor council,” naming
six delegates, three from the list presented by the employers and three from
that presented by the workers.
A rt. 16. When the council has been formed and assembled, it shall proceed
to examine the two briefs of the parties and shall invite said parties to appear
before it for the purpose of explaining the grounds and principles on which
they base their respective claims, which may be done either in writing or
orally. The secretary of the department shall act as secretary of the council
and shall keep minutes of all the meetings, putting in the record the discussions
at such meetings, together with the reasons advanced by each of the parties in
his case.
Art. 17. The council may, if it considers such procedure necessary for the
better determination of the causes of the dispute, order any investigation made
which it may deem proper and hear the opinion of persons not concerned in the
^er at issue.
Art Is The council sha11 first of a11 endeavor to obtain the agreement of
the parties that while conciliation is in progress the employers will not sus
pend work nor the wor*“rs g0 011 strike*
Art. 19. In the course of it* investigations, the council shall make any pro
posals and take all steps which it ula7
us?f1
u an(* ^lng l?. °rder to in
duce the parties to agree directly to a frit^ dly settlement and equitable solution
of the dispute, and it may postpone the consiaCT9^101*.0*matter as long as
it may deem prudent in order to afford said parties J me in whicil to a&ree on
any point where a mutual understanding is possible.
Art. 20. If said settlement does not take place, the councl attei- a11 the
data have been collected and the causes of the dispute examined, sii£.u Propose
to the parties the solution which, as a conciliatory agreement, it deem* lust
and prudent, according to the importance and seriousness of the differences*.
The council’s proposal shall cover all points involved in the disagreement. If
such proposal is accepted, its terms shall be stated in a record to be signed by
those concerned or their representatives and the members of the council, and
in which shall be stated the contract obligation of complying with the agree
ment. This record shall be kept on file in the department, and any copies
thereof for which application is lhade shall be issued by the secretary.
Art. 21. Should the council be unable to obtain an amicable agreement
between the parties, it shall propose that their differences be submitted to
arbitration, and the council may itself assume the character of a council of
arbitration on petition of said parties. In such case, a document shall be
prepared stating the respective compromise, the questions to be settled, and
the obligation upon both parties to submit to the arbitrator’s award.
The council having been constituted as an arbitral tribunal, it shall re
ceive from the parties any evidence they may present and shall take on its
own account any that it may deem necessary for rendering a decision within
the time fixed by the arbitration agreement. The decision shall be incor
porated in the record and shall be signed by both parties or their representa
tives.
Art. 22. If neither conciliation nor arbitration is accepted, that shall be
set forth in like manner, and the council, if it deems such procedure useful,
shall state therein its opinion on the case and order it to be published.
Art. 23. In all matters before the council, the settlement to be proposed
to the parties shall be adopted by a majority vote of the members present,
exclusive of the chairman except in case of a tie, in which case he shall cast
the deciding vote.
Art. 24. When the parties in dispute belong to legally constituted asso
ciations, each one of these associations shall present its list of delegates
for membership on the council, if the question affects the whole trade. If
it affects the workers or operatives of a single enterprise or workshop, the
lists shall be presented by said workers or operatives and by the owners of
said enterprise or workshop, respectively.
Art. 25. When a majority of the employees or employee concerned do not
belong to any trade association, each side by a majority vote shall elect a
commission from among their number to prepare the list of delegates.
Art. 26. Any trade organization having legal capacity shall forfeit it when
ever, in the judgment of the executive authority, it rejects without cause a
conciliatory agreement proposed by the council.
TEX T OF LABOR LEGISLATION
113
Art. 27. If,- when a dispute has arisen, the intervention of the director
of the department is not sought nor the mediation offered by him accepted,
the division of inspection shall order a thorough investigation of the causes
of said dispute and shall give publicity to the results, with such explanations
as it may u££2} pertinent, for the most correct and impartial appraisal of the
CaSjT. 28. The employment bureau i» ie.reby established, and its duties shall
be to coordinate the supply of and demand for
seeking suitable situa
tions for workers and competent workers for employers.
Art. 29. The bureau shall record, classify, and publish all appuC?tlons
for work which are made through it and all offers of positions which it re
ceives, and shall bring to the knowledge of those concerned calls for em
ployment corresponding to their offers.
Art. 30. For the purposes of the preceding article, the bureau shall keep
three registers: 1. Applications for work; 2. Calls for workers; 3. A confi
dential register, in which shall be noted the record of any employers who
have failed to comply with the conditions under which they contracted for
workers, and also the record of any workers who have likewise failed.
Art. 31. The entries or notations in each register shall be made by occupa*
tions and chronologically. In order to be enrolled in the appropriate register,
workers shall establish their personal identity and present a certificate of
good conduct. The enrollment and also the service of the agents of the
bureau in advising workers shall be free of charge.
Art. 32. The bureau shall order printed special forms on which shall be
noted the data concerning those who seek and those who offer employment,
which shall include all the circumstances relative to such work and its
remuneration. It shall post daily in public places lists of offers of and applica
tions for employment, and shall furnish, if necessary, a place where those
interested may meet and come to an understanding directly.
Art. 33. The bureau’s personnel shall be thoroughly familiar with com
merce and industry in the Federal capital and the National Territories, and
shall keep informed regarding the current customary wages and working
hours of the different trades. To this end said personnel shall be in constant
and direct contact with workmen’s and employers’ associations, mutual aid
societies, and police and municipal authorities, from which it shall solicit all
the information it may deem useful in the fulfilment of its task.
Art. 34. The bureau shall organize, with the advice of the division of
statistics the necessary services of this nature and shall present a quarterly
report of its work, in addition to the daily statement to be presented to the
chief of the division of the work of the bureau in so far as it concerns the
number of employers and workers enrolled and of positions filled.
Art. 35. Under the supervision of the director there shall be issued the
“ Bulletin of the National Department of Labor ” in which shall be published the
reports and studies made by the divisions of the department in matters under
their particular jurisdictions, and the reports and proceedings of the public
authorities of this and foreign countries, which relate to questions of labor.
Said bulletin shall be distributed free of charge to employers’ and workmen’s
organizations and shall be sent in exchange to similar institutions of other
countries and also to Argentinian consuls abroad.
The department may also publish pamphlets, monographs, or any material
on subjects related to social questions, the knowledge and study of which
may be of interest to capitalists and workmen.
Art. 36. Inspectors or any other employees of the department who reveal
industrial or commercial secrets of which they have acquired knowledge by
reason of their duties, shall be dismissed and shall, moreover, be liable to the
penalties prescribed by the Penal Code in articles 262 and 265.
Art. 37. The National Department of Labor shall request the National De
partment of Health to make such technical inspections as it may consider
necessary in industrial and commercial establishments of the Federal capital
and the National Territories, in order to assure strict compliance with the
labor law for women and minors with reference to the sanitary conditions
of the workrooms and the health of the workers.
The result of these inspections shall be communicated in writing to the
National Department of Labor. Moreover, the National Department of Health
must indicate any measures whose adoption it may deem proper for insur
ing the effectiveness of the said law in the matter of sanitation and the health
of the persons who are employed.
114
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARG EN TIN A
A rt. 38. The inspectors of the National Department of Health shall be pro
vided with credentials by the director of the National Department of Labor
in order to be able to enter factories, workshops, and commercial houses where
they are to carry on the inspection with which they are charged.
Art. 39. The inspection and supervision of industrial and commercial
lishments of the National Territories shall be made by th* ^ysician of
health department of the Territory according to fcb* instruct* oa^Tne may receive
from the National Department of
.
For^ lle
of study and accurate understanding of occupa[sease* Z. our industries the National Department of Labor may request
Pno i cional Department of Health to inspect those establishments where work
liable to produce such diseases is performed.
A rt. 41. In the cases provided for in paragraph 4 of article 9, the inspectors
of the National Department of Health shall restrict themselves to giving an
account of the facts in writing to their respective superiors, and the head of
the department shall transmit it to the Department of Labor for action.
Art. 42. The provision contained in paragraph 2 of the same article shall
also be applicable to inspectors of the National Department of Health.
Art. 43. Any previous provisions contrary to this decree are hereby repealed.
PROVINCIAL BUREAUS OF LABOR
The following are the 10 Provinces whose laws or decrees establishing labor
bureaus are on file in the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the dates of their
enactment: Buenos Aires, December 11, 1910; Cordoba, September 1, 1914;
Corrientes, April 22, 1926; Entre Rios, June 12, 1915; Mendoza, September 1,
1913; Salta, June 13, 1921; Santa Fe, January 9, 1923; San Luis, January
12, 1927; Santiago del Estero, July 12, 1917; and Tucuman, February 27, 1918.
Since these laws or decrees are all patterned after the national law (No.
8999) creating the National Department of Labor (see p. 107), only the law
of Cordoba is given here, the others being essentially identical.
L aw
of
C ordoba
A rticle 1. The present general oflice of statistics shall be called, after the
promulgation of this law, the bureau of labor and general statistics. It shall
be under the ministry of public works . nd industries, and shall have the
following functions:
To prepare labor legislation, collecting, coordinating, and publishing the
data relative thereto; to organize inspection and supervision of the enforce
ment of the legal provisions of National or Provincial orders on the matter; and
to publish general statistics in accordance with the decree of January 4, 1899,
and the law of November 11, 1902, as regards the matters stated in their
provisions, all other provisions being repealed by the provisions of this law.
A rt . 2. The bureau shall consist o f two principal divisions: (a ) Legislation
and statistics; (6) inspection and supervision.
Art. 3. The bureau shall establish a direct and permanent service of inspec
tion and supervision in industrial and commercial establishments in the capital
and in the departments for the purpose of supervising the enforcement of the
laws relative to labor.
Art. 4. The duly authorized labor inspectors have the right to enter, during
working hours, the premises where an industry or business is being carried on.
Refusal of the employer shall amount to a violation of this law and shall be
penalized by a fine of from 100 to 500 pesos (national currency) without
prejudice to proceeding under a writ of entry secured by the director of the
bureau.
Art. 5. The bureau shall organize and have under its charge, under the system
considered most appropriate, an employment office for workmen for the purpose
of coordinating the supply and the demand of labor. It shall also have the duty
of inspecting and supervising private employment agencies.
Abt. 6. The bureau shall be under the management of a director appointed
by the executive authority.
His duties shall be to supervise the enforcement of labor laws; to mediate in
disputes between capital and labor; to propose appointments, promotions, repri
TEX T OF LABOR LEGISLATION'
115
mands, and dismissals of employees, requesting, whenever necessary, the cooper
ation of the various branches of the administration, the latter being obliged to
render it, and also to direct the various publications issued by the bureau.
If the director is absent or is prevented from being present, his place shall
be filled by the assistant director who is also chief of the division of legislation
and statistics, or in his absence by an official appointed by the executive
authority.
Art. 7. The director, when disputes between capital and labor require it, shall
recognize and preside over labor councils composed in each case of an equal
number of employers and workers. These councils shall have at their disposal
during their proceedings all the elements of the investigation necessary for their
decision, and the latter shall terminate the mediation by the bureau in cases
submitted for its decision.
Art. 8. All persons referred to in this law who refuse to furnish data or
reports required by the bureau for the discharge of its duty, or who furnish
false information, shall incur a fine of from 100 to 150 pesos for the first offense
and from 200 to 300 pesos for offenses thereafter, or shall suffer a penalty
equivalent to 1 day of arrest for each 10 pesos.
The bureau may not give out nor publish the names of persons, enterprises, or
societies to which the data or reports refer. Any employee or agent of the
bureau of labor or statistics who reveals industrial or commercial secrets of
which he has knowledge by reason of his work shall incur the penalty estab
lished in the Penal Code for disclosing secrets.
Art. 9. The authorities and other employees of departments of the Province are
considered by this law as auxiliary agents of the bureau of labor for the
purpose of furnishing data and collecting the facts solicited from them compati
ble with the discharge of their duties.
A rt. 10. Besides the yearbook heretofore published by the general office of
statistics, the bureau of labor shall edit a bulletin whose distribution shall be
free.
Art. 11. The penalties referred to in articles 4 and 8 shall be imposed by the
judge having authority, with appeal to the superior judge, and the proceeds of
the fines shall be added to the common fund for schools.
Art. 12. The executive authority is authorized to spend up to 5,000 pesos
(national currency) in the execution of the present law, to be charged to the
account thereof, taking it from the general tax funds.
REGULATORY DECREE OF SEPTEMBER 15, 1914
A rticle 1. The bureau of labor and statistics is subordinate to the ministry
of public works and industries, and shall include two principal divisions:
(1) Legislation and statistics; (2) inspection and supervision.
Art. 2. The duties of the division of legislation and statistics are:
(а) To organize a special service of labor statistics, the results of which shall
serve as a basis for study and labor legislation. It shall make general investi
gations in the capital and the departments concerning salaries, hours of labor,
industrial accidents, necessary shutdowns, agricultural work, home work,
number of workers employed, idle, and available, the organization of labor
unions and institutions favoring the working classes, their by-laws and objects,
the number of private agencies and their management. It shall make special
investigations regarding the present condition of industrial establishments and
workshops, manner of payment, hours of labor and of rest, and above all the
facts and antecedents that influence the economic situation of the workers,
including the problem of dwellings, and especially that which will aid in
determining and establishing the present condition of the laboring classes.
(б) To frame and propose labor legislation applicable to the necessities and
peculiarities of the Province based on the result of the investigations made under
the provisions of the preceding article.
(c) To devote special attention to all phases of the employment of women
and children, giving great importance to this social problem with respect to
health and morals, and to present legal and administrative measures for their
active protection.
( d) To make contacts with employers’ associations and labor unions, whether
they are technical or have socio-political leanings, to ascertain opportunely the
activities, movements, and fluctuations of the labor market, in order to
strengthen and facilitate the position of the bureau when acting as an inter
mediary in disputes between both parties.
116
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARG EN TIN A
(e) To study the present situation as to relations between employers and
commercial employees with respect to the stipulations of contracts, dismissal,
rest periods, and hours of labor, suggesting any necessary reforms, and also to
make contacts with the existing employers’ associations and employees’ organi
zations.
( f ) To establish and direct a Provincial employment agency wiiich shall serve
employers and workers without cost and whose organization shall be extended,
proportionally to its development, by means of branches throughout the Province,
keeping always in contact with analogous institutions of the National Govern
ment and of other Provinces.
(g) To devote special attention to the matter of Sunday rest, to study the
probability of its extension and the application of necessary exceptions.
(ft) To promote the establishment of labor councils and of technical commis
sions, formed between employers and workers, wThose object shall be to cooperate
with and to help the bureau of labor in making provisions concerning the
agreement of wages and of fixed scales, mediation between both parties, and all
measures which tend to the improvement of the working classes.
(j ) To study the social and labor legislation and literature of those countries
which devote special attention to the labor problem, profiting by their experi
ences, and adapting any innovations there introduced as far as practicable.
( k) To establish relations between bureaus of the same class within and out
side of the country, for the exchange of publications and interesting correspond
ence, to form a socio-economic library which shall be at the disposal of anyone
interested on observing the special regulations.
( I)
To edit and publish, in addition to the present statistical yearbook, a
bulletin of the bureau of labor, for free distribution, in which shall be pub
lished the reports and studies made by the bureau in matters in its peculiar
field, and the documents and proceedings of national and foreign public authori
ties, provided they relate to questions of labor. It may also publish pamphlets,
monographs, or any work on social matters, the knowledge and study of which
may be of interest to industrialists and workers, through the press or through
its own means.
Art. 3. The duties of the division of inspection and supervision are:
(а) To organize and carry on a direct and permanent inspection and super
vision service in industrial establishments in the capital and the departments,
for the purpose of supervising the enforcement of the laws and decrees of the
Government. These provisions shall give special attention to the exigencies
which guarantee health, safety, morality, and necessary rest for the worker.
If the inspector, during a visit in a factory or workshop engaged in the manu
facture of foods feels it opportune to take notice of the hygienic condition of
the establishment or of the method of manufacture, he shall advise the bureau
of his observations for further action.
(б) For the purposes of inspection and supervision the duly authorized in
spectors may enter all places where industry or commerce is carried on. In
spection shall take place, however, only during working hours.
(c) If the owners or employers of industrial or commercial houses do not
permit inspectors to enter, the latter shall limit themselves to stating that fact,
making a record thereof, which shall be signed by two witnesses, the inspector
and the employer, if he does not refuse to do so. This document shall serve as
evidence for the application for the writ of entry. The inspector shall submit
it to the chief of the bureau with the report of the case.
( d) The inspectors shall also supervise and make an inspection of the private
employment agencies, for the purpose of ascertaining whether they meet the
conditions prescribed by the ordinances governing them and whether abuses are
being committed on their patrons. They shall report the information obtained.
(e) The inspectors may receive from the employers and workers all the in
formation and data considered necessary for their mission and the records of
proceedings and the reports which they make shall be considered authentic
until proved to the contrary.
(f) In the discharge of their duties of inspection and supervision or of the
commissions intrusted to them, labor inspectors shall be guided by the instruc
tions given them by the chief of the bureau.
Art. 4. General provisions: (a) The bureau shall not disclose nor publish the
names of persons, enterprises, or societies referred to in the data or reports.
Any employee of the bureau disclosing industrial or commercial secrets of which
he has knowledge because of his work shall incur the fine established in the
Penal Code for disclosing secrets.
TEXT OP LABOR LEGISLATION
117
MEDICAL ATTENTION IN INDUSTRIAL ESTABLISHMENTS
PROVINCIAL LAWS
On July 15, 1925, and May 12, 1925, the Provinces of Jujuy and Tucuman en
acted laws requiring that medical attention be provided in industrial establish
ments.
Only the law of Tucuman is given, since the laws are essentially identical
with only two exceptions, which are: (1) Whereas the Tucuman law makes
medical attention compulsory in “ sugar mills and in other industrial establish
ments in which not less than 200 persons are employed,” the law of Jujuy does
not specifically mention sugar mills; (2) the law of Jujuy makes no mention of
midwives, as does the law of Tucuman in article 5.
L a w o f T u cu m a n
25
1. Permanent provision for medical attention shall be compulsory in
all sugar mills in the Province, and in other industrial establishments in which
not less than 200 persons are employed.
Art. 2. Every sugar mill and industrial establishment covered by the pre
ceding article shall provide in a suitable place an infirmary and a first-aid room,
with the necessary skilled staff, in order to give free medical attention to all
the salaried and wage-earning employees, whether permanent or temporary, and
to the families of such employees.
Art. 3. The sugar mills and industrial establishments referred to in article
1 shall distribute, free of charge and in the quantity required, the milk that,
by doctors’ prescriptions, is needed by salaried or wage-earning employees who
are sick, and by children under the age of three years belonging to the families
of said employees.
Art. 4. The executive authority shall fix in each case the capacity of the
infirmaries, first-aid rooms, and other premises required for the observance of
this law, in proportion to the number of persons employed in each establishment.
Art. 5. Permanent medical attention shall be provided in the infirmaries and
first-aid rooms, and a physician shall attend daily.
One or more midwives, either graduate or licensed by the Provincial health
council, shall also be attached to the said infirmaries and first-aid rooms.
A rt . 6. The physicians referred to in the preceding article, in addition to
their special duties, shall give monthly lectures for the purpose of giving
scientific information respecting infant hygiene, malaria, alcoholism, tubercu
losis, trachoma, etc.
Art. 7. The Provincial health council shall supervise the strict observance of
the provisions of this law, and shall submit a monthly report thereon to the
executive authority through the competent ministry.
A r t . 8. The executive authority shall be authorized to impose fines of not
less than 500 nor more than 5,000 pesos (national currency), for every violation
of this law. Persons on whom such fines are imposed shall not be exempted
from payment thereof, and any officials authorizing such exemption shall be
personally liable for the amount of the fines. The proceeds of the said fines
shall be utilized in public-health measures proposed by the health council and
approved by the executive authority, provided the moneys in question are used
for the benefit of the locality in which the violation occurred.
A rt . 9. The sugar mills and industrial establishments covered by this law
shall have the services referred to in articles 2 and 3 ready and functioning
within six months from the date of the administrative regulations to be Issued
under this law.
If, on the termination of the said time limit, the establishments in question
have failed to comply with this regulation, the executive authority shall cause
the said services to be set up at the cost of the said establishments, and shall
be empowered to recover the cost thereof by judicial action.
A rt . 10. The executive authority shall issue administrative regulations under
this law within one month from the date of approval of the law.
Art. 11. The expenses arising in connection with the administration of this
law shall be defrayed from the general revenues and credited to the same.
A rticle
85 Cronica Mensual del Departamento Nacional del Trabajo, July, 1925, p. 1607,
118
LABOR LEGISLATION OF ARGEN TIN A
SEATS FOR EMPLOYEES
PROVINCIAL LAWS
Both Cordoba in its law of September 6, 1918, and Mendoza in its decree
of July 15, 1926, require employers to provide seats for their workers. The
laws differ only in one particular, and that is that the penalty imposed for
violating the same is 20 pesos for the first offense and 40 pesos for the second
offense in Cordoba, while in Mendoza the fine ranges from 5 to 20 pesos for
the first offense and 200 pesos for subsequent violations. The law of Cordoba
is given below in detail.
L aw
of
C ordoba m
A rticle 1. In the capital of the Province and in the capitals of the departments,
each room in stores and shops and their annexes used for the sale or display of
merchandise or other objects to the public must have at least two-thirds as
many seats with back rests as the number of employees there employed, ex
clusive of the seats provided for the public.
A rt . 2. In industrial establishments where the work is not continuous or
where the nature of the work permits it, there shall be provided seats with back
rests in the proportion of one for every three workers. For the purposes of
this article, the labor office shall classify the establishments in which its
observance is compulsory.
Art. 3. All places shall be considered as annexes which, although separated
from the place where the selling is being carried on, communicate therewith,
whether on the same floor or on different floors.
Art. 4. Every worker or employee has a right to occupy a seat so long as it
does not interfere with his work.
Art. 5. The department of labor shall have charge of supervising the enforce
ment of this law, and for this purpose its inspectors have the right to enter all
the establishments specified in articles 1 and 2.
Art. 6. Employers, directors, or managers are required to post a copy of this
law in a conspicuous place on the premises to which it applies, in a manner
which permits it to be readily and easily read. Below the text must be written
the address of the Provincial department of labor.
Art. 7. Violations of this law shall be punished, for the first offense, by a
fine of 20 pesos for each seat that is lacking; and, for a second offense, double
this amount. Any employer, manager, or director who prevents employees or
workers from taking advantage of the right conferred upon them in article 4
shall incur the same penalty.
REGULATORY DECREE OF AUGUST 2 9 , 1 91 9 *
A rticle 1. The following are included in the provisions of Law No. 2712:
Stores, wholesale dry-goods stores, shops, pharmacies, shoe stores, hardware
stores, bakeries, and all other establishments employing workers of both sexes,
whether on a salary basis or not, engaged in the sale and display of merchandise
to the public.
Art. 2. Manufacturing establishments, workshops, and annexes where the
work is not continuous or where the nature or the manner of doing the same
permit it, are also included.
Art. 3. In case of doubt concerning the character of an establishment, as
regards the application of Law No. 2712, the labor office shall decide its
classification.
Art. 4. Employers of establishments specified in article 1 shall provide at
least two seats, with back rests, for every three workers, and the establishments
cited in article 2 shall provide at least one seat for every three workers.
Art. 5. Every employee or worker may occupy a seat when not busy or when
it does not interfere with the work.
A r t . 6. The labor office shall distribute free of charge posters containing the
text of the law and these regulations. The employers, directors, and managers
* Boletin del Trabajo, November, 1928, p. 187,
TEXT OF LABOR LEGISLATION
119
are required to post them in a conspicuous place on the premises to which they
are applicable, in a manner which permits them to be readily and easily read.
Art. 7. The labor inspectors are authorized to supervise the enforcement of
these provisions, for which purpose they may inspect during working hours the
establishments referred to in articles 1 and 2.
Art. 8. Without prejudice to the duties assigned to the labor office, the police
officials in the capitals of the departments shall have charge of seeing that the
law and its regulations are complied with, for which purpose they shall make
inspections, within their jurisdictions, at least every three months.
Art. 9. Violations of the provisions of article 4 of the regulatory decree shall
be penalized by a fine of 20 pesos (national currency) for the first offense for
each seat that is lacking, and double this amount for a second offense. Em
ployers, directors, and managers who prevent their employees or workers from
taking advantage of the rights conferred upon them in article 4 shall incur the
same penalty, as will also those who do not comply with the provisions of article
6 of the regulatory decree.
Art. 10. Any person who knows of a violation of this regulatory decree or of
the law on which it is based may report the same to the labor office, which, after
it has been proved, shall impose the fine.
Art. 11. Such fines shall be imposed and collected, under receipt, by the labor
office in the capital and elsewhere by the police authorities. The proceeds shall
be turned over to the guaranty fund of the accident division of the retirement
fund.
A rt . 12. Violators may appeal from the fines imposed to the ministry of the
department, who shall definitely decide it.
A rt . 13. In case of refusal to pay the fine imposed, the authority shall report
it to the ministry of the department so that the proper measures may be
adopted.
INDEX
Accident prevention:
Page
Agricultural machinery.......... .................................................. .................................................
28
Home work, safety and sanitation, Federal Capital.................................................................... 33,34
Safety measures, industrial establishments, Federal Capital and National Territories...............20,21
Sanitary measures, industrial establishments, Federal Capital and National Territories______ 19,20
Summary of laws as to....................................................................................................... .........
3
Work on port loading and unloading, Federal Capital and National Territories................ ....... 21,22
Accidents, industrial, compensation for. (See Workmen’s compensation.)
Action for compensation............................................................................................................... 11,12,23
Age for employment............................................................... .......................................................... 48,49
Agencies, employment. (See Employment agencies.)
Amount of compensation, schedules........................................................... ............................. 9,10,17-19
Annuities, retirement. (See Retirement annuities and pensions.)
Assignment of wages and retirement annuities and pensions............... ............................................
30
Attachment of wages and retirement annuities and pensions.............................................................
30
Bakeries, prohibition of night work in..................... ........................................... .............................46-48
Bank employees:
National retirement fund, organic law........ ...............................................................................97-105
Retirement annuities and pensions............................ .............................................................. 96-97
Building societies, regulations re. ...................................................................................................... 64,56
Bureaus of labor, Provincial___________________________ __________ _____ _________ _____ 114-116
Child labor. (See Minors, employment of.)
Civil employees, retirement annuities and pensions.......................................................................... 69-74
Commissions, wage, home work, Federal Capital................................ .............................................
34
Compensation:
Industrial accidents. (See Workmen’s compensation.)
Occupational diseases------------------------------- --------------------------- ----------- -------------------12,25,26
Cooperative societies...................................................— ............................................................ 8,105-107
Credit societies, exempt from tax under housing law......................................................................... 54,55
Currency, national, payment of wages in........................... ..................... -............................. .......... 28,29
Definitions;
Businesses, under Sunday rest law................ ............................................................................. 41,42
Cooperative societies................................. ...............................................................................105,106
Home work, Federal Capital....................................................... ............... ..............................
33
Low-priced houses.......... ................................................................ ...........................................57-59
Manual labor, Sunday rest law, Federal Capital...................... ............... ........................ .........
40
Department of labor, national............................................... ............ .......... ..................................107-114
Disability, determining extent of.................... .................................................................................
18
Diseases, occupational, compensation for_____________________ ____ _____________ _________ _
12
Eight-hour day:
Employments covered................................................................................................................. 36,39
General provisions.—............................................................—................................................... 36,37
Law of Tucuman......................................................................................................................... 37-39
Summary of laws as to............................................................................................................... .
4
Employers’ liability:
Exceptions under workmen’s compensation law, Federal Capital and National Territories.......
24
Injuries to employees.................................. .............................................................................9,15-17
Medical attention, etc___________________________________ ______________ ___________ 15-17
Employment agencies:
PrivateGeneral requirements, Federal Capital and National Territories....................... :.................. 64,65
Inspection and penalties, Federal Capital and National Territories........... .......................... 65,66
Law of 1915............................................................................................................................ 63,64
Regulations, Cordoba_______________________ . . . . . . ....................................................... 67-69
121
122
lMDEX
Employment agencies—Continued.
Public—
Page
General provisions regulating, Federal Capital and National Territories__. . . . . . . . . __ ___ _ 64,65
National, law of 1913.............................................................................................................. 62,63
Provincial, regulatory decree of Cordoba...............................................................................
67
Summary of laws as to............................................................................................................... .
6
Employment of children. (See Minors, employment of.)
Employment of women. (See Women, employment of.)
Exemptions:
Sunday rest law, Federal Capital................................................................................................ 40-45
Tax, credit societies, under housing law.......................................................................................54,55
Fees, employment agencies, private, Federal Capital and National Territories................................65,68
Female employees. (See Women, employment of.)
Fraudulent notices, private employment agencies, Cordoba..............................................................
68
Funds, housing, administration and employment of..........................................................................56,57
Guaranty fund, workmen’s compensation.................................................................................10,22,23
Home work:
Federal Capital, regulations........................................................................................................ 33-36
General provisions as to............................................................................................................... 30-32
Summary of laws as to........................................................................................................ .......
4
Hours of work:
Minors...... ....... ....... ............................................................................................................... .
49
Women........................................................................................................................................
49
(See also Eight-hour day.)
Housing:
Benefits granted, application of...................................................................................................59,60
Commission, powers of................................................................................................................ 54,55
Funds, administration and employment of..................................................................................56,57
Low-priced houses, defined..........................................................................................................57-59
Sale and leasing of low-priced houses........................................................................................... 61,62
Summary of laws as to................................................................................................................ 5,6
Industrial accidents, compensation for. (See Workmen’s compensation.)
Industrial diseases, compensation for............................................................... .................................
12
Industrial establishments, medical attention in, Jujuy and Tucuman............................................... 117
Injuries, determining extent of disability......................................................................................... . 17,18
Inspection:
Employment agencies......................... ..................... ............................................ ................ 65,66,68
Home work, Federal Capital.......................................................................................................
35
Insurance companies, regulations re workmen’s compensation.......................................... ............... 24,25
Labor, hours of. (See Hours of work.)
Labor offices:
National Department of Labor, organization and duties o f .....................................................107-114
Provincial bureaus of labor.............................. . ....................................................................... 114-116
Summary of laws as to.................................................................................................................
8
Labor, Sunday, prohibited, Federal Capital and National Territories..............................................
40
Liability:
Agents, private employment agencies, Cordoba..........................................................................
68
Employers, injuries to employees...... .......................................................................................9,15-17
Third party............................................................................................................................. 11,23,24
Licenses, private employment agencies, Cordoba...............................................................................
67
Loans, mortgage, from public-service employees’ retirement fund, regulations..................................92-95
Machinery, agricultural, accident prevention..................................................................................
28
Manual work, defined, Sunday rest law, Federal Capital..................................................................
40
Matches, phosphorus, prohibition of manufacture, importation and sale of....................................7,8,105
Maternity, protection o f................................................................................................................. 49,50
Medical attention:
Industrial establishments, Jujuy and Tucuman........................................................................... 117
Sugar mills, Tucuman. ............................................................................................................ .
117
Summary of laws as to.................................................................................................................
8
Minimum wage rates, home work, Federal Capital............................................................................34,35
Minors, employment of:
General regulations............................................................................................................. 48,49,50-53
Hours of la b or...........................................................................................................................
49
INDEX
123
Minors, employment of—Continued.
Page
Industries and occupations prohibited............................................................................ _...........49,51
Night work................ ....................... ..........................................................................................
49
Summary of laws as to..................................................................................................................
5
Mortgage loans, public-service employees* retirement fund, regulations............................................ 92-95
National Department of Labor, organization and duties of........................................................... 107-114
National Housing Commission, constitution and functioning of....................................................... 55,56
National retirement fund, bank employees, organic law.......... ........................................................ 97-105
Night work:
Bakeries...................................................................................................................................... 46-48
Hours of.......................................................................................................................................
36
Minors, forbidden........................................................................................................................
49
Summary of laws as to.................................................................................................................
5
Notice of accident................................................................................... ..........................................
15
68
Notices, fraudulent, private employment agencies, Cordoba.............................................................
Nurseries, establishments to provide........................... ..................................................................... 50,53
Occupational diseases:
Compensation for....................................................... ............................................................12,25,26
Defined and listed........................................................................................................................ 25,26
Overtime work, payment for..............................................................................................................
36
Partial disability, rules for determining, Federal Capital and National Territories.........................
18
Payment of wages in national currency..............................................................................................28,29
Pensions and retirement annuities. (See Betirement annuities and pensions.)
Phosphorus matches, prohibition of manufacture, importation and sale of.....................................7,8,105
Ports, accident prevention in loading and unloading............... ........................................................21,22
Private employment agencies. (See Employment agencies.)
Provincial bureaus of labor............................................................................................................114-116
Public employment agencies............................................................................................................. 62,63
Public-service employees, retirement annuities and pensions.............................................................84-95
Railroad employees, retirement annuities and pensions....................................................................74-84
Registers:
Employment agencies, private, Cordoba.......................................................................... .........
68
Fines, employment agencies.......................................................................................................
66
Home work, Federal Capital.......................................................................................................
33
Minors, requirements......................................................................................................... 50,51,52,53
Rest, days of. (See Sunday rest.)
Retirement annuities:
Attachment and assignment of.................................................................................................. .
30
Bank employees....................................................................................... ................................. 95-105
Civil employees............................................................................................................................69-74
Disability, bank employees...................................................................................................... 102,103
Public-service employees and workmen.......................................................................................84-95
Railroad employees......................................................................................................................74-84
Summary of laws as to................................................................................................................. 6,7
Voluntary retirement, bank employees................................................................................... .... 103
Retirement funds, national:
Bank employees, organic law......................................................................................................97-102
Civil employees....................... ................................................................................................... 69-71
Public-service employees.................................................................................................... 84-86,89-95
Railroad employees...................................................................................................................... 74-77
Safety. (See Accident prevention.)
Sale and leasing of low-priced houses..................................................................................................61,62
Sanitation. (See Accident prevention.)
Schedule rates for specific injuries, workmen’s compensation, Federal Capital and National Terri
tories...............................................................................................................................................
19
Seats for employees, Cordoba and Mendoza................................................................................ 8,118,119
Societies, cooperative...................................................................................................................8,105-107
Sugar mills, medical attention provided, Tucuman...........................................................................
117
23
Suits for workmen’s compensation, Federal Capital and National Territories................................. Sunday rest:
Exemptions under law, Federal Capital and National Territories........................................... —
40
Provincial laws............................................................................................................................
46
Regulations, Federal Capital....................................................................................................... 40-46
Summary of laws as
4,1
124
IN D EX
Page
Third party, liability of................................................................................................................ 11,23,24
Total disability, rules for determining, Federal Capital and National Territories.................. ..........
18
Wage commission, home work, Federal Capital............... . ............................... . ............................
34
Wage legislation, summary of laws as to............................................... ........... —............................. 3,4
Wages:
Assignment of...... .......................................................................................................................
30
Attachment of..............................................................................................................................
30
Payment of, in national currency.................................................................................................28,29
Women, employment of:
General provisions as to............................................................................................................ 49-53
Industries or occupations prohibited................................................. ......................................... 49,51
Maternity, protection of....................................................................... ...................................... 49,50
Summary of laws as to.................................................................................................................
5
Workers, inexpensive houses for..................................................... ............................................. . 53-62
Workmen's compensation:
Industrial accidents...................................................................................................................... 9-11
Industries to which law applies........................................................................................ ....... 9,13-15
Occupational diseases......................................................................................................... . 12,25,26
Suits for compensation...................................................................................... ..................... 11,12,23
Summary of laws as to............................................................... ............................................... - % 3
LIST OF BULLETINS OF THE BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS
The following
is
a list of all bulletins of the Bureau of Labor Statistics published since
July, 1912, except that in the case of bulletins giving the results of periodic surveys of the
buremi only tike latest bulletin on any one subject is here listed.
A complete list of the reports and bulletins issued prior to July, 1912, as well as the bulletins
published since that date, will be furnished on application.
Bulletins marked thus
(*)
are
out of print.
Conciliation and Arbitration {including strikes and lockouts).
♦No. 124. Conciliation and arbitration in the building trades of Greater New York,
[1913.]
♦No. 133. Report of the industrial council of the British Board of Trade on its inquiry
into industrial agreements. [1913.]
No. 339. Michigan copper district strike. [1914.]
♦No. 144. Industrial court of the cioak, suit, and skirt industry of New York City.
[1914.]
♦No. 145. Conciliation, arbitration, and sanitation in the dress and waist industry of
New York City. [1914.]
♦No. 191. Collective bargaining in the anthracite-coal industry. [1916.]
♦No. 198. Collective agreements in the men’s clothing industry. [1916.]
No. 233. Operation of the industrial disputes investigation act of Canada. [1918.]
No. 255. Joint industrial councils in Great Britain. [1919.]
No. 283. History of the Shipbuilding Labor Adjustment Board, 1917 to 1919.
No. 287. National War Labor Board : History of its formation, activities, etc. [1921.]
♦No. 303. Use of Federal power in settlement of railway labor disputes. [1922.]
No. 341. Trade agreement in the silk-ribbon industry of New York City. [1923.]
No. 402. Collective bargaining by actors. [1926.]
No. 468. Trade agreements, 1927.
No. 481. Joint industrial control in the book and job printing industry. [1928.]
Cooperation.
No. 313. Consumers’ cooperative societies in the United States in 1920.
No. 314. Cooperative credit societies (credit unions) in America and in foreign
countries. [1922.]
No. 437. Cooperative movement in the United States in 1925 (other than agricultural).
Employment and Unemployment.
♦No. 109. Statistics of unemployment and the work of employment officers. [1913.]
No. 172. Unemployment in New York City, N. Y. [1915.]
♦No. 183. Regularity of employment in the women’s ready-to-wear garment industries.
[1915.]
♦No. 195. Unemployment in the United States. [1916.]
No. 196. Proceedings of the Employment Managers’ Conference held at Minneapolis,
Minn., Januarv 19 and 20, 1916.
♦No. 202. Proceedings of the conference of Employment Managers’ Association of
Boston, Mass.. held May 10, 1916.
No. 206. The British system of labor exchanges. [1916.]
♦No. 227. Proceedings of the Employment Managers’ Conference, Philadelphia, Pa.,
April 2 and 3, 1917.
No. 235. Employment system of the Lake Carriers’ Association. [1918.]
♦No. 241. Public employment offices in the United States. [1918.]
No. 247. Proceedings of Employment Managers’ Conference, Rochester, N. Y., May
9-11, 1918.
♦No. 310. Industrial unemployment: A statistical study of its extent and causes.
[1922.]
No. 409. Unemployment in Columbus, Ohio, 1921 to 1925.
Foreign Labor Laws.
♦No. 142. Administration of labor laws and factory inspection in certain European
countries. [1914.]
No. 494. Labor legislation of Uruguay. [1927.]
100691°—30----- 9
[I]
Housing.
♦No. 158. Government aid to home owning and housing of working people in foreign
countries. [1914.]
No. 263. Housing by employers in the United States. [1920.]
No. 295. Building operations in representative cities in 1920.
No. 500. Building permits in the principal cities of the United States in [1921 to]
1928.
Industrial Accidents and Hygiene.
*No. 104. Lead poisoning in potteries, tile works, and porcelain enameled sanitary ware factories.
[1912.]
No. 120. Hygiene of the painters’ trade. [1913.]
•No. 127. Dangers to workers from dusts and fumes, and methods of protection. [1913.]
♦No. 141. Lead poisoning in the smelting and refining of lead. fl914.]
•No. 157. Industrial accident statistics. [1915.]
♦No. 165. Lead poisoning in the manufacture of storage batteries. [1914.]
♦No. 179. Industrial poisons used in the rubber industry. [1915.]
No. 188. Beport of British departmental committee on the danger in the use of lead in the painting
of buildings. [1916.]
•No. 201. Beport of the committee on statistics and compensation insurance cost of the International
Association of Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions. [1916.]
♦No. 209. Hygiene of the printing trades. [1917.]
♦No. 219. Industrial poisons used or produced in the manufacture of explosives. [1917.J
No. 221. Hours, fatigue, and health in British munition factories. [1917.]
No. 230. Industrial efficiency and fatigue in British munition factories. [1917.]
♦No. 231. Mortality from respiratory diseases in dusty trades (inorganic dusts). [1918.
♦No. 234. Safety movement in the iron and steel industry, 1907 to 1917.
No. 236. Effects of the air hammer on the hands of stonecutters. [1918.]
No. 249. Industrial health and efficiency. Final report of British Health of Munition Workers*
Committee. [1919.]
No. 251. Preventable death in the cotton-manufacturing industry. [1919.]
No. 256. Accidents and accident prevention in machine building. [1919.]
No. 267. Anthrax as an occupational disease. [1920.]
No. 276. Standardization of industrial accident statistics. [1920.]
No. 280. Industrial poisoning in making coal-tar dyes and dye intermediates. [1921.]
♦No. 291. Carbon-monoxide poisoning. [1921.]
No. 293. The problem of dust phthisis in the granite-stone industry. [1922.]
No. 298. Causes and preventison of accidents in the iron and steel industry* 1910-1919.
No. 306. Occupational hazard and diagnostic signs: A guide to impairments to be looked for in haz
ardous occupations- [1922.]
No. 392. Survey of hygienic conditions in the printing trades. [1925.]
No. 405. Phosphorus necrosis in the manufacture of fireworks and in the preparation of phosphorus.
[1926.]
No. 427. Health survey of the printing trades, 1922 to 1925.
No. 428. Proceedings of the Industrial Accident Prevention Conference, held at Washington, D. G.,
July 14-16, 1926.
No. 460. A new test for industrial lead poisoning. [1928.]
No. 466. Settlement for accidents to American seamen. [1928.]
No. 488. Deaths from lead poisoning, 1925-1927.
No. 490. Statistics of industrial accidents in the United States to the end of 1927.
No. 507. Causes of death by occupation. 11929.]
Industrial Relations and Labor Conditions.
No. 237. Industrial unrest in Great Britain. [1917.]
No. 340. Chinese migrations, with special reference to labor conditions. [1923J
No. 349. Industrial relations in the West Coast lumber industry. [1923.]
No. 361. Labor relations in the Fairmont (W. Va.) bituminous-coal field. [1924.]
No. 380. Postwar labor conditions in Germany. [1925.]
No. 383. Works council movement in Germany. [1925.]
No. 384. Labor conditions in the shoe industry in Massachusetts, 1920-1924.
No. 399. Labor relations in the lace and lace-curtain industries in the United States. [1925.]
labor Laws of the United States (including decisions of courts relating to labor).
No. 211. Labor laws and their administration in the Pacific States. [1917.]
No. 229. Wage-payment legislation in the United States. [1917.]
No. 285. Minimum-wage laws of the United States: Construction and operation. [1921.)
No. 321. Labor laws that have been declared unconstitutional. [1922.]
In]
Labor Laws of the United States (including decisions of courts relating: to labor)— Continued.
No. 322. Kansas Court of Industrial Relations. [1923.J
No. 343. Laws providing for bureaus of labor statistics, etc. [1923.]
No. 370. Labor laws of the United States, with decisions of courts relating thereto. [1925.]
No. 408. Laws relating to payment of wages. [1926.]
No. 444. Decisions of courts and opinions affecting labor, 1926.
No. 486. Labor legislation of 1928.
Proceedings o f Annual Conventions of the Association of Governmental Labor Officials of the United
States and Canada. (Name changed in 1928 to Association of Governmental Officials in Industry of
the United States and Canada.)
No. 266. Seventh, Seattle, Wash., July 12-15, 1920.
No. 307. Eighth, New Orleans, La., May 2-6,1921.
No. 323. Ninth, Harrisburg, Pa., May 22-26, 1922.
•No. 352. Tenth, Richmond, Va., May 1-4, 1923.
*No. 389. Eleventh, Chicago, Dl., May 19-23, 1924.
•No. 411. Twelfth, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 13-15,1925.
No. 429. Thirteenth, Columbus, Ohio, June 7-10,1926.
•No. 455. Fourteenth, Paterson, N. J., May 31 to June 3, 1927.
No. 480. Fifteenth, New Ofleans, La., May 21-24,1928.
No. 508. Sixteenth, Toronto, Canada, June 4-7, 1929.
Proceedings of Annual Meetings of the International Association of Industrial Accident Boards and
Commissions.
No. 210. Third, Columbus, Ohio, April 25-28, 1916.
No. 248. Fourth, Boston, Mass., August 21-25,1917.
No. 264. Fifth, Madison, Wis., September 24-27,1918.
•No. 273. Sixth, Toronto, Canada, September 23-26, 1919.
No. 281. Seventh, San Francisco, Calif., September 20-24, 1920.
No. 304. Eighth, Chicago, Dl., September 19t23, 1921.
No. 333. Ninth, Baltimore, Md., October 9-13, 1922.
•No. 359. Tenth, St. Paul, Minn., September 24-26,1923.
No. 385. Eleventh, Halifax, Nova Scotia, August 26-28, 1924.
No. 395, Index to proceedings, 1914-1924.
No. 406. Twelfth, Salt Lake City, Utah, August 17-20, 1925.
No. 432. Thirteenth, Hartford, Conn., September 14-17,1926.
•No. 456. Fourteenth, Atlanta, Ga., September 27-29, 1927.
No. 485. Fifteenth, Paterson, N. J., September 11-14, 1928.
Proceedings o f Annual Meetings of the International Association of Public Employment Services.
No. 192. First, Chicago, December 19 and 20,1913; second, Indianapolis, September 24 and 25, 1914;
third, Detroit, July 1 and 2,1915.
No. 220. Fourth, Buffalo, N. Y., July 20 and 21,1916.
No. 311. Ninth, Buffalo, N. Y., September 7-9,1921.
No. 337. Tenth, Washington, D. C., September 11-13,1922.
No. 355. Eleventh, Toronto, Canada, September 4-7, 1923.
No. 400. Twelfth, Chicago, 111., May 19-23,1924.
No. 414. Thirteenth, Rochester, N. Y., September 15-17, 1925.
No. 478. Fifteenth. Detroit, Mich., October 25-28, 1927.
No. 501. Sixteenth, Cleveland, Ohio, September 18-21,1928.
Productivity o f Labor.
No. 356. Productivity costs in the common-brick industry. [1924.]
No. 360. Time and labor costs in manufacturing 100 pairs of shoes, 1923.
No. 407. Labor cost of production and wages and hours of labor in the paper box-board industry.
[1926.]
No. 412. Wages, hours, and productivity in the pottery industry, 1925.
No. 441. Productivity of labor in the glass industry. [1927.]
No. 474. Productivity of labor in merchant blast furnaces. [1928.]
No. 475. Productivity of labor in newspaper printing. [1929.]
Retail Prices and Cost of Living.
•No. 121. Sugar prices, from refiner to consumer. [1913.]
•No. 130. Wheat and flour prices, from farmer to consumer. [1913.]
•No. 164. Butter prices, from producer to consumer. [1914.]
No. 170. Foreign food prices as affected by the war. [1915.]
No. 357. Cost of living in the United States. [1924.]
No. 369. The use of cost-of-living figures in wage adjustments. [1925.]
No. 495. Retail prices, 1890 to 1927.
[m]
Safety Codes.
•No. 331. Code of lighting: Factories, mills, and other work places.
No. 336. Safety code for the protection of industrial workers in foundries.
No. 350. Specifications of laboratory tests for approval of electric headlighting devices for motor
vehicles.
•No. 351. Safety code for the construction, care, and use of ladders.
No. 375. Safety code for laundry machinery and operations.
No. 378. Safety code for woodworking plants.
No. 382. Code of lighting school buildings.
No. 410. Safety code for paper and pulp mills.
No. 430. Safety code for power presses and foot and hand presses.
No. 433. Safety codes for the prevention of dust explosions.
No. 436. Safety code for the use, care, and protection of abrasive wheels.
No. 447. Safety code for rubber mills and calenders.
No. 451. Safety code for forging and hot-metal stamping.
No. 463. Safety code for mechanical power-transmission apparatus—first revision.
No. 509. Textile safety code.
Vocational and Workers* Education.
•No. 159. Short-unit courses for wage earners, and a factory school experiment. [1915.]
*No. 162. Vocational education survey of Richmond, Va. [1916.1
*NTo. 199. Vocational education survey of Minneapolis, Minn. [1917.]
No. 271. Adult working-class education in Great Britain and the United States. [1920.1
No. 459. Apprenticeship in building construction. [1928.1
Wages and Hours of Labor.
*No. 146. Wages and regularity of employment and standardization of piece rates in the dress and waist
industry of New York City. [1914.)
•No. 147. Wages and regularity of employment in the cloak, suit, and skirt industry. [1914.1
No. 161. Wages and hours of labor in the clothing and cigar industries, 1911 to 1913.
No. 163. Wages and hours of labor in the building and repairing of steam railroad cars, 1907 to 1913.
♦No. 190. Wages and hours of labor in the cotton, woolen, and silk industries, 1907 to 1914.
No. 204. Street-railway employment in the United States. [1917.J
No. 225. Wages and hours of labor in the lumber, millwork, and furniture industries, 1915.
No. 265. Industrial survey in selected industries in the United States, 1919.
No. 297. Wages and hours of labor in the petroleum industry, 1920.
No. 356. Productivity costs in the common-brick industry. [1924.1
No. 358. Wages and hours of labor in the automobile-tirc industry, 1923.
No. 360. Time and labor costs in manufacturing 100 pairs of shoes, 1923.
No. 365. Wages and hours of labor in the paper and pulp industry, 1923.
No. 394. Wages and hours of labor in metalliferous mines, 1924.
No. 407. Labor costs of production and wages and hours of labor in the paper box-board industry. [1926.]
No. 412. Wages, hours, and productivity in the pottery industry, 1925.
No. 416. Hours and earnings in anthracite and bituminous coal mining, 1922 and 1924.
No. 442. Wages and hours of labor in the iron and steel industry, 1907 to 1926.
No. 454. Hours and earnings in bituminous-coal mining, 1922, 1924, and 1926.
No. 471. Wages and hours of labor in foundries and machine shops, 1927.
No. 472. Wages and hours of labor in the slaughtering and meat-packing industry, 1927.
No. 476. Union scales of wages and hours of labor, 1927. [Supplement to Bulletin 457.}
No. 482. Union scales of wages and hours of labor, May 15, 1928.
No. 484. Wages and hours of labor of common street laborers, 1928.
No. 487. Wages and hours of labor in woolen and worsted goods manufacturing, 1910 to 1928*
No. 492. Wages and hours of labor in cotton-goods manufacturing, 1910 to 1928.
No. 497. Wages and hours of labor in the lumber industry in the United States, 1928.
No. 498. Wages and hours of labor in the boot ind shoe industry, 1910 to 1928.
No. 499. History of wages in the United States from colonial times to 1928.
No. 502. Wages and hours of labor in the motor-vehicle industry, 1928.
No. 503. Wages and hours of labor in the men’s clothing industry, 1911 to 1928
No. 504. Wages and hours of labor in the hosiery and underwear industries, 1907 to 1928.
Welfare Work.
•No. 123. Employers’ welfare work. [1913.]
No. 222. Welfare work in British munitions factories. [1917.]
•No. 250. Welfare work for employees in industrial establishments in the United States. [1919.]
No. 458. Health and recreation activities in industrial establishments, 1926.
Wholesale Prices.
No. 284 Index numbers of wholesale prices in the United States and foreign countries. 11921J
No. 453 Revised index numbers of wholesale prices, 1923 to July, 1927.
No. 493. Wholesale prices, 1913 to 1928.
[IV]
Women and Children in Industry.
No. 116. Hours, earnings, and duration of employment of wage-earning women in selected industries
in the District of Columbia. [1913.]
*No. 117. Prohibition of night work of young persons. 11913.]
•No. 118. Ten-hour maximum working-day for women and young persons. [1913.1
No. 119. Working hours of women in the pea canneries of Wisconsin. [1913.1
•No. 122. Employment of women in power laundries In Milwaukee. [1913.1
•No. 160. Hours, earnings, and conditions of labor of women in Indiana mercantile establishments and
garment factories. [1914.1
*No. 167. Minimum-wage legislation in the United States and foreign countries. [1915.1
*No. 175. Summary of the report on conditions of women and child wage earners in the United States.
[1915.1
•No. 176. Effect of minimum-wage determinations in Oregon. [1915.1
•No. 180. The boot and shoe industry in Massachusetts as a vocation for women. [1915.]
•No. 182. Unemployment among women in department and other retail stores of Boston, Mass. [1916.]
No. 193. Dressmaking as a trade for women in Massachusetts. [1916.]
No. 215. Industrial experience of trade-school girls in Massachusetts. [1917.]
•No. 217. Effect of workmen’s compensation laws in diminishing the necessity of industrial employ
ment of women and children. [1918.]
•No. 223. Employment of women and juveniles in Great Britain during the war. [1917.]
No. 253. Women in the lead industries. [1919.]
Workmen’s Insurance and Compensation (including laws relating thereto).
♦No. 101. Care of tuberculous wage earners in Germany. [1912.]
•No. 102. British national insurance act, 1911.
No. 103. Sickness and accident insurance law in Switzerland. [1912.]
No. 107. Law relating to insurance of salaried employees in Germany. [1913.1
•No. 155. Compensation for accidents to employees of the United States. [1914.]
•No. 212. Proceedings of the conference on social insurance called by the International Association of
Industrial Accident Boards and Commissions, Washington, D. C., December 5-9,1916.
•No. 243. Workmen’s compensation legislation in the United States and foreign countries, 1917 and
1918.
No. 301. Comparison of workmen’s compensation insurance and administration. [1922.]
No. 312. National health insurance in Great Britain, 1911 to 1921.
No. 379. Comparison of workmen’s compensation laws of the United States as of January 1,1925.
No. 477. Public-service retirement systems, United States and Europe. [1929.]
No. 496. Workmen’s compensation legislation of the United States and Canada as of January, 1929.
(With text of legislation enacted in 1927 and 1928.)
Miscellaneous Series.
•No. 174. Subject index of the publications of the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics up to
May 1,1915.
No. 208. Profit sharing in the United States. [1916.1
No. 242. Food situation in central Europe, 1917.
No. 254. International labor legislation and the Society of Nations. [1919.]
No. 268. Historical survey of international action affecting labor. [1920.]
No. 282. Mutual relief associations among Government employees in Washington, D. C. [1921.]
No. 299. Personnel research agencies: A guide to organized research in employment management,
industrial relations, training, and working conditions. [1921.]
No. 319. The Bureau of Labor Statistics: Its history, activities, and organization. [1922.]
No. 326. Methods of procuring and computing statistical information of the Bureau of Labor
Statistics. [1923.]
No. 342. International Seamen’s Union of America: A study of its history and problems. [1923.]
No. 346. Humanity in government. [1923.]
No. 372. Convict labor in 1923.
No. 386. Cost of American almshouses. [1925.]
No. 398. Growth of legal-aid work in the United States. [1926.1
No. 401. Family allowances in foreign countries. [1926.]
No. 461. Labor organizations in Chile. [1928.]
No. 462. Park recreation areas in the United States. [1928.]
No. 465. Beneficial activities of American trade-unions. [1928.]
No. 479. Activities and functions of a State department of labor. [1928.]
No. 483. Conditions in the shoe industry in Haverhill, Mass., 1928.
No. 489. Care of aged persons in United States. [1929]
No. 491. Handbook of labor statistics, 1929 edition.
No. 505. Directory of homes for the aged in the United States. [1929.]
No. 506. Handbook of American trade-unions: 1929 edition.
[V]
@FedFRASER