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.
The determination of how much and how the minimum wage should be regulated, something that occasionally seems to be done in an arbitrary manner and for political purposes, continues to be one of the factors that most confront Central American businessmen and governments.
In Costa Rica, a 3% increase in the minimum wage was approved for 2019; in El Salvador, an increase is expected to be discussed, and in Guatemala, the commission in charge of the issue reported that no increases will be made this year.
In Guatemala people are now suffering from the "labor agreements", which come from the same strain of virus as the "Collective agreements" which have made the State Costa Rica sick, distorting the labor market and generating inequality.
EDITORIAL
The editorial "Harmfulness of labor agreements in the public sector", published today on Elperiodico.com.gt, might have been written some years ago to describe Costa Rica. Guatemala still appears to have a chance to react to the disease, with proper medication. In Costa Rica, however, the disease is so widespread that major surgery is needed which today does not seem feasible, and the only thing left is to wait for the inevitable final crisis.
Performance bonuses and other variable compensation schemes weigh increasingly on the total compensation of senior managers.
In order to motivate and retain executives companies are tending more and more to compensate their executives with salary schemes where the variable proportion and that dependent on performance is increasing.
Paying with company stock, profit sharing from stocks or performance bonuses are some of the payment methods being used by companies for senior managers, as detailed in a report by consulting firm PriceWaterhouseCoopers.
More than money itself, employees express more affinity and give more to those jobs where they manage to make an important connection with their environment.
The emotional power of salaries
By Manpower
Money is not everything when it comes to human resource management.
Nowadays specialists in this area agree that more than money itself, employees express more affinity and give more to those jobs where they manage to make an important connection with their environment.
In terms of salary, knowing when to say no to the boss has its advantages.
In her article for CNNexpansión, journalist Ivonne Vargas analyses the results of an investigation conducted by the United States Management Academy.
"The study 'Do Nice Guys and Girls Always Finish Last?' conducted on 20,000 professionals in the U.S. and Canada, found that rude men earn 18% more than workers who always want to be seen as 'good' or nice.
The cost of labor is critical for textile companies which migrate from Honduras to El Salvador and Nicaragua, where wages are lower.
Daniel Facussé, president of the Honduran Manufacturers Association (AHM), states that 16 textile companies have moved their operations from Honduras to Nicaragua and El Salvador since the end of 2008.
For the Businessman, the main reason is the difference in wages between Honduras and its neighbors.
The multinational has reached an agreement with the main Honduran labor union to create a $1.54 million relief fund to help workers made redundant.
Two factories that supplied NIKE were forced to close in January 2009 and still owe $2 million in salaries and benefits to 1,800 employees, an insignificant amount compared to its $19 billion revenues last year.
Acknowledging and rewarding good performances improves employee satisfaction and increases the organization's productivity.
Explicit recognition must be part of the staff management strategy, as much as an adequate remuneration policy. Salary is not the only source of satisfaction for employees.
"The big problem in organizations is that most tend to confuse recognition with compensation.
The gaps among salaries from Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica are disappearing.
When observing the current Pricewaterhouse Coopers study there are some conclusions that stand out. There are categories in the region. Salaries are highest in Guatemala, Panama and Costa Rica, a little lower in El Salvador and Nicaragua, and much lower in Honduras, despite improvements.