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.
Following the state of calamity in the country, the Ministry of Labor created an electronic procedure, through which companies can temporarily suspend the contracts of their workers.
Ministerial Agreement 140-2020, published on April 7 in the Official Journal, explains that the government measure is temporary and exclusively applicable as long as the circumstances and effects of the covid-19 pandemic, which has been declared worldwide, and its effects on employment contracts persist.
Arguing that the regulations contradict some articles of the Political Constitution, in Guatemala union groups brought an action against the agreement that allows companies to hire part-time personnel.
After years of discussion, on June 27th Governmental Agreement 89-2019 was published in the Official Gazette. This Agreement establishes the Regulations of Convention 175 of the International Labor Organization (ILO), which will regulate the hiring of part-time personnel in the country.
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.
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.
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.
The concept protects those who work for the state or in a formal company, at the price of excluding those looking for a job and in particular young people.
OPINION Jorge Cobas González
In France, a country characterized by being one of the most advanced in protecting workers, the pendulum of history is changing the direction of its swing, meeting the demands of reality: the competitiveness of economies is based on the efficiency with which their resources are used.And in the Age of Knowledge, the human factor is the first to be taken into consideration in this matter.
Rigid working structures remains an obstacle to be overcome by women, even though new technologies have made working conditions more flexible in the world.
According to Sonia Vanegas, country manager of Manpower, at a global level, for several years many companies have started to promote policies that are friendly to women's performance. "Many women still fail to establish the balance between personal and professional life due to, among other things, rigid schedules that keep them stuck in the office," says Vanegas.
Information technologies encourage flexible employment schemes which improve quality of life for workers and boost productivity for organizations.
An analysis by Sonia Vanegas, Director of the Business Unit at Manpower Group Nicaragua, in Laprensa.com.ni, outlines that as "the industrial era transformed traditional ways of working, pulling people from their workshops to concentrate in factories and hold them to certain structured work schedules so today the Human Age, supported by information technology, is doing the same by encouraging flexible employment schemes that improve quality of life for employees and productivity for organizations. "
Brands like Adidas, American Eagle Outfitters, Gap, Liz Claiborne, Nike, Phillips-Van Heusen and Vanity Fair asked the Government of Guatemala to review labor laws.
A group of U.S. retailers and brands such as Adidas, American Eagle Outfitters, Gap, Liz Claiborne, Nike, Phillips-Van Heusen (PVH) and Vanity Fair (VF) said they want to see a "timely resolution" to the labor demands presented in 2008 against Guatemala under the framework of DR-CAFTA.
CACIF listed its priorities: security and justice, economic recovery based on a Competitiveness Agenda, and a Social Agenda.
Carlos Amador, new president of the Coordinating Committee for Agricultural, Commercial, Industrial and Financial Associations (CACIF), explained they want the government to include their proposals in Guatemala’s state policies.
In the face of the crisis, the government hired a consultancy by the UNPD to develop a new labor policy.
The consultancy will take place over a period of three months and it will look for ways to continue to implement part-time work without ratifying Agreement 175 of the International Labor Organization (ILO).
Journalist Lorena Alvarez wrote in Elperiodico.com.gt: "Afterward, the proposal will be reviewed by the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, as well as the Tripartite Commission for Labor Affairs."
The new policy seeks to generate 200 thousand new jobs per year and it will be presented before the second half of the year.
The minister of labor, Edgar Rodríguez, stated that the measures contemplate labor flexibility.
In statements to Prensalibre.com, the official said: "It would allow companies to hire according to their necessities, therefore we see an opportunity there to create new jobs."