Historic record: 10,000 labor lawsuits per month put formal employment in check

The Occupational Risk System is experiencing an unprecedented crisis. According to a report by the Unión de Aseguradoras de Riesgos del Trabajo (UART), the "lawsuit industry" caused a judicial avalanche valued at more than $2 trillion in the past year, which is equivalent to nearly 7 million minimum wages.

UART warned that this situation threatens a system that protects 10 million workers and one million employers. Despite the sustained decrease in workplace accidents and deaths, litigation continues to grow without any apparent logic.

2025: a year that will set a new record for lawsuits

The report projects that 2025 will break all records: around 130,000 new labor lawsuits are expected, meaning more than 10,000 lawsuits per month. This scenario not only puts pressure on the ART system, but also increases the so-called "Argentine cost," discouraging the creation of formal employment.

The provinces most affected by the wave of lawsuits are Buenos Aires (40% of cases), Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires (19%), and Santa Fe (14%).

The missing judicial link: without oversight, the system becomes unbalanced

One of the key factors behind the excessive increase in labor lawsuits is the lack of implementation of the Forensic Medical Bodies (CMF), established by Law 27.348 of 2017 to ensure objective and uniform expert reports. Eight years after the law was enacted, 17 adhering provinces —including CABA— still do not have these bodies, leaving the way open for uncontrolled and unstandardized expert reports. In this context, experts are paid based on the percentage of disability they assign, fueling a circuit of perverse incentives that multiplies litigation.

A system that saves lives, but could collapse

The Occupational Risk System has managed to save 19,000 lives and prevent 4.7 million accidents in nearly three decades. However, the baseless judicial avalanche threatens to undermine this collective achievement.

UART warns that, in addition to the accumulated stock of 290,000 lawsuits as of December 2024, the 130,000 expected for 2025 will be added. "There is no system or company capable of sustaining this staggering level of litigation that erodes competitiveness, productivity, and employment," warned its president, Mara Bettiol. They emphasize that the solution lies in completing the remaining judicial link to restore balance and predictability to a model that protects millions.

Since its creation 29 years ago, the ART system has achieved concrete results: it reduced workplace mortality by 81%, decreased accident rates by 55% (with 4.7 million accidents prevented), and reduced the severity of incidents by 39%.

In addition, it offers coverage superior to that of many countries, with comprehensive free medical care, automatic updates, and compensation for all disabilities.

Each lawsuit: a million-dollar business

UART reported that the increase in lawsuits can't be explained by more accidents or worse services. On the contrary, it links it to a phenomenon of "inflated medical expert reports", which exceed the official Baremo by 12.5 points, and to disproportionate judicial interest rates. This turns each lawsuit into a financial opportunity rather than a legitimate claim.

The role of the Judiciary: between privileges and controversies

The scenario of increasing judicialization is occurring in parallel with controversial rulings, such as the one that reinstated the holiday for the State Workers' Day. The Government strongly criticized this measure, calling it a union privilege protected by the "judicial caste."

Presidential spokesperson Manuel Adorni and Justice Minister Mariano Cúneo Libarona agreed in rejecting these sectoral benefits, which —according to them— worsen the country's structural problem.