Argentina
Labour reforms in libertarian Argentina : actors, conflicts and negotiations around the labour modernisation act
Virginia MELLADO
The mid-term legislative elections of October 2025 strengthened the governing coalition of ultra-liberal president Javier Melei. In February 2026, his government secured the vote of parliament on a labour reform bill aimed at increasing the flexibility of the labour market, attracting foreign investments and weakening union influence. Union bodies are split between strategies of negotiation and confrontation.
Keywords : Argentina, labour market reform, Javier Milei, deregulation.
Spain
From social progress to a failure to reduce working time, against a backdrop of political instability
Catherine VINCENT
Since the end of 2018, the coalition governments led by Pedro Sánchez (socialist) have pursued a policy of social reform: a steep rise in the minimum wage, creation of a minimum living wage (means-tested income support), a reduction of precarity in the jobs market, parental leave reform, and so on. Political instability has worsened as elections approach and government bills are failing to pass through parliament. The most significant failure has been that of the proposal to reduce working time.
Keywords: Spain, working time, working hours reduction, minimum living wage, parental leave.
Germany
A sharp rise in senior citizen and retiree employment: how to explain differences with France?
Jeanne FAGNANI
Against a backdrop of labour shortages, partly attributable to a shrinking working-age population, encouraging seniors and retirees to extend their working lives has become a crucial issue for the Germany economy. With this in mind, the ruling coalition (CDU-CSU and SPD) have resolved to relax the rules governing combining retirement pension and working income and to progressively raise the retirement age.
Keywords: Germany, working conditions, discrimination, pension reform, retirement reform, senior employment.
United Kingdom
Pensions: debates around current and future reforms
Jacques FREYSSINET
After seventeen years of Conservative governments, the Labour victory in the July 2024 general election has given rise to new debates on the reform of a pensions system characterised by its duality. On the one hand, a flat-rate public pension scheme is insufficient to keep the entire population out of poverty, despite its rising fiscal cost. On the other hand, a proliferation of partial pension plans causes inequalities and uncertainty about levels of future pension provision.
Keywords: United Kingdom, pensions, inequality, poverty.