BUENOS AIRES - Shops and supermarkets closed, flights were cancelled, and garbage piled up as Argentine workers staged their fourth general strike of President Javier Milei's term, some clashing with police.
The few buses running in Buenos Aires were nowhere near full, although car traffic was unusually heavy as many workers observed the 24-hour strike against a contentious labour reform.
Dozens of flights were cancelled, and train stations were left deserted with only a handful of buses running, AFP observed.
On roads leading into the capital, small groups of protesters blocked traffic.
Later in the day, several thousand demonstrators gathered outside parliament, where a few dozen participants engaged in running battles with police, throwing bottles and stones.
Officers replied with tear gas, water cannons and rubber bullets to clear the area.
Police were observed making about a dozen arrests.
The CGT labour federation said more workers adhered to the walkout call than during any of the previous three strikes.
"It has levels of compliance like never before under this government," union leader Jorge Sola told Radio con Vos, claiming that "90 percent of activity had stopped."
The contested reforms pushed by budget-slashing Milei, an ideological ally of US President Donald Trump, would make it easier to hire and fire workers in a country where job security is already hard to come by.
It would also reduce severance pay, limit the right to strike, increase work hours and restrict holiday provisions.
The measure was approved by the senate last week and is meant to come before the chamber of deputies Thursday.
If approved, it will go back to the Senate for a final green light.
The labour action comes as Argentina's economy is showing signs of a downturn in manufacturing, with more than 21,000 companies having shuttered in two years under Milei.
He had come to power after wielding a chainsaw at rallies during the 2023 election campaign to symbolise the deep cuts he planned to make to public spending.
Unions say some 300,000 jobs have been lost since Milei's austerity measures began.