Focusing the skills of employees according to new opportunities and approving laws that allow for more flexible labor agreements are some of the proposals being discussed in Guatemala for companies to face the new labor reality.
Following the economic crisis that caused the outbreak of covid-19, the recovery and generation of jobs is one of the issues that occupies much of the attention of the government in Guatemala.
A decree was published in Panama authorizing the modification or temporary reduction of the working day, which due to the economic crisis generated by covid-19 may be reduced by up to 50%.
The new regulation establishes that the agreement to modify working hours must include methods to achieve the gradual recovery of working hours to the levels existing before the crisis and that they must not affect the hourly rate agreed in the current employment contract, reported the Ministry of Labor and Labor Development.
After the Constitutional Court temporarily suspended the legal framework regulating part-time work in Guatemala, a new proposal advances in Congress.
This is bill 5477 has received a favorable opinion from the Labor Commission of the Congress of the Republic and is pending discussion in the plenary of deputies.
Finally, in Guatemala the agreement was approved that will allow companies to hire part-time workers, which promises to be part of the solution to the unemployment problem affecting the country.
On June 27, Governmental Agreement 89-2019 was published in the Official Gazette, establishing the Regulations of Convention 175 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which will regulate the hiring of part-time workers in the country.
Because there is still no regulation for part-time employment in Guatemala, textile businessmen estimate that the country loses between 40 and 70 thousand jobs.
For representatives of the Costume and Textile Commission (Vestex), the high operating and labor costs in Guatemala cause businessmen to send cut pieces to Honduras, El Salvador and Nicaragua to be assembled.
As of May 29 a new Labour Code will come into force as well as the introduction of oral trials in labor lawsuits.
Labor trials are to be conducted orally, and the new Labour and Social Security Code of Nicaragua (Law 815) also allow workers to file their application before a judge verbally.
In the past, resolution of a labor case took six years, but with this new Code that time will be reduced to six months.
Central to the package of nine bills submitted to Congress is the Law for Promotion of Investment and Employment.
An article on S21.com.gt reports that "On January 14, President Pérez Molina will present a package of nine bills to Congress, three of which are new. There are four which already have assent and two amendments to existing laws, which together seek to create new jobs and bring more formality to the labor force, and hence attract more and better investments in the country."
Laws restricting the recruitment of foreign personnel are obstacles to competitiveness and development.
In Panama, only 10% of staff may be foreign. According to some economists and managers, this reduces the competitiveness of financial sector companies.
When consulted, the economist Ruben Lachman said the laws that establish the 10% limit are a burden.
The proposal presented by the Textile Industry Chamber did not receive support from the Ministry for Employment.
The plan promoted by the industry is for a change in working hours from a three and half day week to eight hours daily.
"Patricia de Figueroa, the Chamber's executive director, stated that the plan did not receive the backing required from the Ministry for Employment, which described it as unconstitutional," reports Elsalvador.com.
Inflexible labor legislation is making the textile industry less competitive.
Markets such as Honduras and the Dominican Republic have already had 12-hour working days approved and as a result have seen export orders increase. This in turn has meant more jobs - 10,000 new positions reported in Honduras in August.
"The loss of contracts is the concern of Edwin Zamora, president of El Salvador's association of textile and apparel manufacturers (Camtex), who has reiterated his call to the government for a longer working day of 11 or 12 hours in order to be able to accept orders still arriving from the USA," reports Elsalvador.com.