COVID-19 in South America: contrasting policies

South America has been harshly hit by the COVID-19 pandemic. Argentina and Brazil, the two biggest economies of the subcontinent, have adopted contrasting health and labour policies. The Brazilian government has refused to adopt policies to slow its spread such as social distancing measures. Instead, state governors and mayors imposed quarantine. As a result of this conflict, there is a lack of coordination on public policies and people are confused. By contrast, the Argentine government has adopted one of the longest and strictest lockdowns across the globe. Its public health policy can be summarised in the statement of the Argentine president who stated that "you cannot recover from death". This diverse approach has been partially reflected in the labour legislation enacted.

The Argentine government has enacted diverse measures in order to protect workers' rights. It has exempted the large majority of workers from performing their duties without negative impact upon their wages. To do so, the government has decided to progressively subsidise wages in the private sector. For essential activities that have carried on, the government has favoured teleworking, and has strengthened the employer's duty of health and safety at work. Furthermore, it has implemented a prohibition of suspension of contracts, as well as dismissals and redundancies until the end of July. Any suspension, dismissal or redundancy decided by the companies will be null and void.

The Brazilian government has enacted measures to make labour regulations more flexible. It has allowed the anticipation of individual annual paid leave and holidays, established a special working hours compensation scheme and suspended occupational safety and health administrative requirements. To do so, it prioritises individual agreements - employee/employer - over the law and collective bargaining. Moreover, the government has created the 'Emergence Employment and Income Maintenance Programme', which grants a benefit to employees who have suffered a reduction of their salary and working hours, or a suspension of their contracts. The reduction and the suspension may be negotiated through individual agreements.