Argentines protest demanding law to fight growing poverty

Tens of thousands of Argentines are staging a demonstration to back a measure meant to create a million jobs to face growing poverty levels.

Demonstrators hold up an Argentina national flag in front of the National Congress during a protest. Source: AAP

Demonstrators flooded the streets of Buenos Aires Friday and marched to Congress waving flags and chanting slogans.

The "social emergency law" also would increase child welfare payments by 15 percent. The bill introduced by opposition lawmakers recently passed in the Senate and is now before the lower house.

Argentina's conservative government says the measure would create a strain on the budget.

President Mauricio Macri's hiking of utility rates and other measures have fanned consumer prices and increased poverty levels.

The government says nearly one out of every three Argentines lives in poverty.