Workers, employers and the Departament of Labor by the end of Amadeo Sabattini's term of office. A case of study on labor disputes in the hotel industry in Cordoba (1938-1940)

Abstract

In the 1930s the hotel industry of Cordoba (Argentina) had a growing development at the same time as the role of the State in working conditions regulations increased. This paper aims to analyze the implementation of the Labour Act N ° 11.544 about eight-hour workday in the hotel industry of Córdoba. We are going to focus on the employers and employees conflict that arose between the years 1938-39 in this particular location due to the implementation of the law. That dispute was very well documented and we think that it is a good example of the confrontation between the State and a reluctant economy sector. Our analysis has two key points: the institutional practices of the State and the demands of employers and workers. The proposed analysis allows us to problematize how the local bureaucracy was the key to the implementation of a policy that aimed to bring workers along with the State. At the same time, it allows recognizing the growing State interventionism in labor relations and the subsequent acceptance of its role