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.
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.
In Honduras, the goal that companies in the sector have set is to create 15,000 jobs in 2018, and the number of posts generated from January to August adds up to 11,234.
According to figures from the Honduran Maquila Association (AHM) at the end of 2017 the number of positions in companies in the sector totaled 145,595, and the goal they have set is to end 2018 with 160,000 people working in maquilas.
In Honduras, the union of maquiladoras reported that in June 2018 jobs in the sector totaled 151,667, 4% more than those reported in December 2017.
During the first half of the year, the Honduran Maquila Association (AHM) recorded an increase of 6,072 jobs, rising from 145,595 at the end of 2017 to 151,667 at June 2018.
An official report reveals that Costa Rican government officials get sick five times more than those in the private sector.
EDITORIAL
Data from the Central Evaluation Commission on Disabilities of the Costa Rican Social Security Department (CCSS) indicate that during 2014 the average number of days that each civil servant was incapacitated by illness was five times higher than the average number of days each private sector worker was absent from their duties due to illness.
In advanced economies employment is becoming less stable while those in developing economies are focusing on public policies, which stimulates the growth of informality and, paradoxically, unemployment.
EDITORIAL
"It's the economy, stupid."
We will use the now famous phrase coined during Bill Clinton campaign against George Bush, to highlight the paternalistic voluntarism which is fashionable in most of the countries of the region, the only effect it has is to marginalize the formal production economy for more and more people, with an impoverishing final effect. Globalization requires more and more competition, which can only be achieved with maximum flexibility using all resources, including human ones. This, which in itself is inhumane, is a reality that should not be overlooked in the definition and implementation of public employment policies, if they are to be successful and sustainable.
The law on flexible labor passed in 2010 was valid for three years and now its extension has provoked opposition from worker unions seeking its repeal.
Representatives from several labor unions asked the president Porfirio Lobo to repeal the Employment Act which was extended on 18 January before he leaves the Government. Trade unions believe that the rule violates the Labor Code and curtails the rights of workers.
A professional degree used to be a guarantee of social mobility and prestige, but the current labour market pays little for some of them.
The labor market can be compared to the commercial market. Salaries are defined by the evolution of supply and demand. When supply is greater than demand, salaries are lowered and when demand is greater than supply, wages rise.
Extending the deadline for the end of the validity of the law does not meet businesses need for certainty regarding the permanence of a system which is considered successful.
Congress has approved the extension until December 31, 2013 of the term of the Employment Paid By Hours Act which would have ended in two months.
This law was created in 2010 and its duration was originally 36 months meaning that it would have come to an end in November, however, the National Congress of Honduras gave its approval for it to remain in force for another month.
Employers have requested that the temporary law whose validity will expire in two months be made permanent.
The Ministry of Labour and Social Security has also asked for the entry into force of the National Employment By Hours Programme which according to official statistics has reduced unemployment by 3.6%, generating about 155,000 jobs. According to Labor Minister Jorge Bográn, it is important to ensure the stability of the program, if not these positions could be lost and there would be no room for new applicants.
Panama is the only Central American country that has ratified the Maritime Labour Convention of the ILO, which takes effect on August 20, 2013.
A statement from the International Labour Organization (ILO):
The global shipping industry sails under a new rule
A new "bill of rights" - the Maritime Labour Convention of the ILO - enters into force, ensuring protection for 1.5 million seafarers worldwide and fair competition for shipowners.
Being an essential tool, dealing with e-mails takes up valuable time for entrepreneurs and executives, therefore it is essential to optimize its use.
Otto Stecher, Director of Business Outsourcing Services at Deloitte, writes:
We spent a lot of time on issues that the end of the day do not add value. When asked in a small survey what things took time away from more important matters, most people said e-mail.
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.
While in the rest of the world the standard is close connections between the private sector and academia, the region is still holding on to old ideological myths, which negatively affect development.
On inaugurating in El Salvador the II National Congress of Higher Education entitled "Linking Higher Education to the Workplace", the Minister of Education, Franzi Hato Hasbun, noted the need to "carry out a process of connection between company and university , encouraging three fundamental aspects: research, innovation and overcoming social projections. "
Technology gives parents the chance to have a much more active role in parenting, while fulfilling their obligations as executives or entrepreneurs.
By Fernando Ramirez - VP Sales, CA Technologies Central America and Caribbean
If we analyze the labor scene 50 years ago, we find a very different reality today. At that time, work was more structured than it is today and, barring a few occasions, it was unthinkable to have flexible working hours.