08/11/2020 - 7:00
- Clarín.com
- Economy
- Economy
Maria Laura Cali *
The COVID-19 pandemic generated a global review of all the employment and salary projections in 2020 , if we take as a basis the latest results of the Continuous Survey of Sel Consultores for the Management of Human Capital, prepared on the basis of a systematic consultation to a group of more than 150 leading companies in the country.
In our last consultation in August, when inquiring about the expected evolution of endowments for 2020, one in four leading companies expect to reduce their endowments this year ; in contrast, only 8% estimate that they will increase. The negative net difference between expectations of increase and decrease is sustained in all economic sectors and all occupational categories . With an accentuated impact on the sectors that produce durable goods and the categories at the base of the pyramid, such as sales personnel, administrative personnel, operational personnel, and temporary and outsourced workers. Only a quarter of the companies kept their recruitment forecasts for 2020. The remaining 75% cut them markedly.
Uncertainty is the majority when it comes to investigating when the generation of new jobs within companies will be effectively reactivated . Half do not know and two out of ten expect it until 2022.
With regard to salaries, the presence of cuts is also evident. In the case of non-contract personnel, a third of the leading companies declare that they have reduced the estimate of the percentage of salary adjustments foreseen for 2020. The average cut reaches 7/10 points , with a marked incidence in the durable goods and services sectors public. Salaries for non-unionized staff will once again fall below projected inflation this year. At an average gap, not less than 5/8 points according to the sector.
Another action with a majority incidence in relation to the salaries of non-contract personnel is a postponement in the months of application. More than half of the leading companies delayed the months of implementing the salary adjustments , within this group one in two does not even know when they will be effectively carried out and the rest expect a shift of no less than three months.
If we review the evolution of salary adjustments among personnel within the agreement, the COVID-19 pandemic has generated a majority extension of salary negotiations beyond the usual. Only one in ten leading companies closed the contract wage negotiations . While more than two-thirds expect a scenario of greater difficulty in negotiations with the union this year. In the case of salaries of personnel within the agreement, the estimates are also below the expected inflation for the year, with a gap similar to the personnel outside the agreement, of 5/8 points according to the sector.
Beyond the cuts in the forecast of salary adjustments and the evolution of provisions this year, the incidence of COVID - 19 also accentuated the application of other cost containment measures . The suspension of personnel stands out, one in four leading companies implemented it or plans to implement it, reaching an average of 35% of the staff; the suspension of shifts, one in three leading companies implemented it or plans to implement it; the reduction in working hours, two out of ten leading companies implemented it or intend to implement it, among these the affected staff reaches 50% and the reduction is two hours from the usual working day; paid vacation advance, two out of ten leading companies implemented it or intend to implement it, among these the amount included reaches two thirds. With less incidence, there are also companies that have implemented early retirement programs and voluntary retirement programs, in both cases the incidence reaches one in ten leading companies, reaching 5% and 10% of the staff, respectively.
We have been going through a sequence of years in which endowments and wages have undergone a negative net evolution, below inflation. This scenario is not new, COVID - 19 has further accentuated a sadly familiar reality.
* Executive Director of Sel Consultores
