As the pandemic has changed the ways of accomplishing tasks and telecommuting has gained ground in all markets, flexibility in terms of where and when to work will be one of the factors most valued by employees in this new reality.
The threats caused by the spread of Covid-19, caused companies globally to look for new ways of working. Most teams chose to readjust their dynamics and focused on promoting remote work.
The labor market reports a structural change, as fewer and fewer people are being paid a fixed salary for their work, while at the same time the number of employees earning per project is increasing.
Although the trend has been reported globally for several years, the pandemic accelerated this process, as the economic crisis generated by the Covid-19 outbreak destroyed thousands of formal jobs.
Faced with the sudden change that the new normal generated in companies, employees are challenged to increase their skills to work remotely, adapt to more flexible contracts and refine their technological skills and cognitive qualities.
Telecommuting has become an everyday occurrence among companies in the region, which have had to adjust to the restrictions imposed by governments due to the outbreak of covid-19.
In the context of the economic crisis, it is estimated that companies in Central America have reduced the working hours of employees to an average of 32 hours per week.
As a result of the spread of covid-19 in the countries of the region and the imposition of strict home quarantines, demand for products and services has fallen considerably in most markets.
Restrictions on the movement of vehicles and people, and to some extent, the ban on office work, are forcing companies to reinvent their ways of operating and revolutionize their work culture.
Following the spread of covid-19, strict home quarantines were decreed in Central American countries. This scenario boosted the implementation of teleworking and forced companies to adapt to a new way of operating.
Because the private sector believes that the conditions to formalize companies and generate new jobs do not exist, the employers are urging the government to declare an emergency due to the unemployment situation.
It is estimated that only 33,000 new jobs were generated in the country last year, which includes jobs in companies and government institutions.
With the recent signing of the U.S.-Canadian-Mexican trade agreement, a precedent was set for future negotiations, as this agreement sets binding labor conditions, such as making exports subject to the payment of a minimum wage.
For example, one of the conditions of the Treaty between Mexico, United States and Canada (T-MEC), which was signed on December 10, 2019, is that vehicles exported from one state of Mexico to the other two countries "must come from plants that pay wages not less than $16 an hour.
Although working from home is considered a non-wage incentive because of the flexibility and benefits it provides to the employee, this mode of work is not yet a trend for companies in Guatemala.
Implementing work from home or home office, is a modality increasingly popular among executives and professionals who see the benefits that telecommuting provides.
Businessmen from Central America and the Dominican Republic ask that ILO Convention 190 not be ratified, arguing that countries already have regulations to deal with violence and harassment in the workplace.
The Federation of Private Entities of Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic (Fedepricap), through a statement dated August 9, reported that they agreed to request from the governments "...
In recent years, the sector in Guatemala has lost nearly 30,000 jobs, because the high costs resulting from having one of the highest minimum wages in the region, makes it more profitable only to export raw materials, rather than making them in the country.
Vestex figures show that in recent years several jobs have been lost in the sector, given that between 2006 and 2018 the industry lost a considerable number of jobs, going from 82,109 to 53,636 places, equivalent to a 35% decrease.
The growing trend to work for companies that offer the flexibility to work from home or in spaces outside the office, is modifying the employee performance and even triggering changes in the real estate market.
Experts on the subject say that Panama reports a growing trend, which consists of employees choosing not to work in eminently corporate environments and do so in coworking’s, cafeterias and avant-garde offices, or even work from home.
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.
Informality, access to social services and lifelong learning are some of the aspects on which the region's economies must focus in order to improve labor market conditions.
Representatives of the International Labor Organization (ILO) presented in San José, Costa Rica, the report "Working for a brighter future", prepared by the World Commission on the Future of Work, which describes the factors that affect work in the countries of the region.
Despite the location and the fiscal benefits that in some cases the countries of the region offer, the lack of education of the population will be the main barrier to continue attracting large investments.
The lack of guarantee of finding the competent and sustainable human capital necessary for the proper operation of companies is an issue that negatively influences the attraction of important investments in Central America.
From January 1, 2019, the minimum wage increase came into effect, which will be paid in accordance with economic activities and company size in relation to the number of workers.
From the COHEP statement:
The Honduran Council of Private Enterprise (COHEP), with the purpose of informing Honduran companies and society about the Minimum Wage Agreement that will govern the country during 2019 and 2020, announces the following: