Thousands of protesters have taken to the streets in Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, to oppose labour reforms that would restrict the right to strike and roll back employment benefits.

Wednesday’s demonstrations come as the country’s Senate debates the legislation, championed by libertarian President Javier Milei.

The reforms are seen as an attempt to curb the power of organised labour. Milei, meanwhile, has argued that the reforms are essential to realising his vision for a free-market economy free of cumbersome regulation.

But labour unions came out in force on Wednesday to demonstrate against the proposed bill.

The resulting demonstrations led to clashes with police in the centre of Buenos Aires. Security forces deployed water cannon, rubber bullets and tear gas, while some protesters lobbed Molotov cocktails, stones and water bottles.

In a statement, the General Confederation of Labour, a trade union coalition that helped organise the demonstration, denounced the reforms as an attack on worker rights.

The reforms would, among other things, make it easier for businesses to fire employees and reduce severance pay. They would also restrict the ability of labour unions to participate in collective bargaining.

“It’s not modernisation. It’s austerity for the workers,” the confederation said.

But the Milei government has argued that the changes are necessary to attract investment.

Senator Patricia Bullrich, a former security minister in Milei’s government, called Argentina’s labour and employment market an “unbalanced” system that was suffering from “extreme judicialisation”.

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Milei was a dark horse in Argentina’s 2023 presidential election. But faced with spiralling inflation and a stagnant economy, he emerged victorious over the governing left-wing Peronist movement.

He often campaigned with a chainsaw, symbolic of his desire to slash government spending and eliminate regulations. His presidency has seen a sharp turn towards austerity measures, which critics accuse of deepening poverty among Argentina’s lowest income brackets.