1) No collective bargaining agreement in Argentina for IT workers has been officially approved.

Several attempts have been made but, to date, there is no officially approved collective bargaining agreement in Argentina for IT workers for the activity itself.

Certain unions with trade union status have drawn up a collective bargaining agreement template for IT workers. These templates will become binding company collective bargaining agreements if any company in the industry adheres to them.

For example, by Resolution No. 1519/2023 (published in the Official Gazette on November 29, 2023), the National Ministry of Labor registered the Company Collective Bargaining Agreement No. 1696/2023-E, and Annex, entered into by and between the Computer Industry Association ( Asociación Gremial de Computación, hereinafter, the AGC) and Pixart S.R.L. This collective labor agreement for computer workers is only effective for workers of Pixart S.R.L., throughout the national territory, until January 31, 2025, who perform as:

• Operator;
• Programmer;
• Analyst;
• Technical support;
• Systems development;
• Computer center;
• Technicians; and
• Personnel that by the nature of the tasks they perform should be included but could have been omitted for reasons of denomination.

It also applies to those employees of the company who perform their tasks outside the company’s offices, at the premises of its customers, and/or third parties.

2) Trade union status of the IT workers’ unions

a) The AGC obtained the granting of trade union status through Resolution No. 239/2018 of the Secretary of Labor and Employment, adjusted by Resolution 1012/2023 of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security. This trade union status was granted with the character of first-degree trade union association to group workers in an employment relationship with companies of the IT activity who develop tasks of:

• Operator;
• Programmer;
• Analyst
• Technical support ;
• Systems development;
• Computer center; and
• Technicians;

The AGC’s representative territory is the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires and the Province of Buenos Aires.

The AGC’s trade union status has been challenged in court by the Argentine Federation of Trade and Service Employees (Federación Argentina de Empleados de Comercio y Servicios) and other trade union entities and is still pending judgment.

b) Recently, the Computing Unión (Unión Informática, hereinafter, the UI) was also granted union status, although with a more limited territorial scope. By Resolution No. 1410/2023 of the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security, the UI was granted union status to group workers involved with application software such as:

• Surveys of administrative processes and circuits to develop applications, analysis, design, and testing of applications (management software, search engines, social networks, HR administrator);
• Data exploitation (analysis and design of data models to obtain non-obvious relationships, used for marketing, and public preference);
• Consultancy to introduce ICTs in the different management processes of an organization;
• Development of software base to manage electronic equipment/devices (computers, telephones, GPS, printers, scanners, tomographs or satellites), databases, networks, internet, mathematical calculations and the like; and
• Workers who provide IT services such as IT consulting, IT auditing, IT risk management, service contingency plans, IT security, help desk, and technical support.

The representative territory of the UI is the locality of San Isidro, District of San Isidro, Province of Buenos Aires.

By the same resolution that granted trade union status to the UI, the Union of Engineers, Technicians, Employees and Supervisors of IT and Telecommunications Systems and Cimet (San Isidro Plant) and the AGC were excluded from the personal and territorial scope granted to the UI. The referred trade unions will be merely registered with respect to the scope granted to the UI.

3) Conclusions

The importance that the IT industry has acquired in our country deserves more certainty as to the union entities that can legitimately represent the workers of the sector and, fundamentally, a collective bargaining agreement for IT workers in Argentina by activity, modern and that contemplates the special characteristics of the companies of the industry and especially of those that work exporting services for international clients.

Mario E. Castro Sammartino

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