Due to the postponement of joint employment, only 19% of private workers were able to agree to wage increases this year

Ismael Bermudez

08/22/2020 - 11:31

• Clarín.com
• Economy
• Economy

So far this year, only 23 sector or activity wage agreements have been signed , which established increases for one million private salaried workers in a dependency relationship, which represent only 19% of total employment in the private sector (more than 5 ,2 millions).

More than half of the agreements were for between 4 and 7 months, while in those that were signed for 12 months, the increases were between 23 and 30% per year, with review clauses if inflation exceeds the agreed increases, of according to a report from the Ministry of Labor. In the national public sector there were no joint agreements this year.

Private consulting firms estimate that in 2020 inflation could be around 40%, if there is no adjustment of rates and regulated prices and the official dollar does not skyrocket. Meanwhile, the 23 joint ventures signed contrast with the 500 activity agreements that were signed in recent years.

Thus, 81% of private workers continue with their 2019 salaries , adjusted in some cases by the revision of last year's inflation, plus the $ 3,500 fixed sum granted in February and $ 4,000 since March that continue to be paid (Decree 14/20).

Meanwhile, all public sector workers also continue with 2019 salaries , plus $ 3,000 non-remunerative granted in February and $ 4,000 in March for those who earned up to $ 60,000. (Decree 56/20).

A report from the Employment and Business Dynamics Observatory (OEDE) of Labor at the beginning of the year specified that due to the collection of this fixed sum in the private sector “between December 2018 and the first months of 2020, the variation of the average real wage passed from a fall of 10.6% without the receipt of a fixed sum, to a contraction of 5.9%, after including the measure ”. Then, in April-May, on average formal wages (RIPTE) increased by 2.5%, almost half of the rise in prices (5.3%).

 The Report acknowledges that, due to the pandemic, the most affected activities postponed the start of joint ventures, while those that were less affected resumed negotiations.

For this reason, for the Minister of Labor, Claudio Moroni "despite the uncertainty imposed by the pandemic, unions and business chambers through collective bargaining agreed to increases in the sectors that managed to sustain the activity."

Where there were increases

70% of the wage parities (16 agreements) were signed in the manufacturing industry, where 52% of the wage earners reached by the agreements are concentrated (525,000 workers). “In this branch, the joint companies of the metallurgical, food, textile, wood and oil industries stand out. In the transport and storage branch, only two agreements were reached in which 243,000 wage earners work, mainly the joint union of the truck drivers' union standing out ”. Other relevant agreements are those of Building Managers and Sports and Civil Entities.

Due to the economic and sectoral uncertainty , "57% of the joint companies agreed to a term of between 4 and 7 months, after which the parties will meet again to analyze the salary situation of these workers." And 43% of the salary agreements established an annual validity, “with the application of the review mechanisms that become effective before the end of the year or at the beginning of the next. In this last group are the agreements with high coverage, such as Freight Transportation, Banking, Chemicals, Meat and Building Managers ”, says the Report.

The percentages of increase based on the basic salaries established in the agreements were established at "78% of the total agreements signed, among which the agreements for Truckers, Building Managers and Bankers stand out."

The remaining joint members agreed to pay fixed amounts during some months of the year, with a different percentage impact on the different professional categories of the agreement. "For example, the metallurgical joint venture agreed to pay an allocation of $ 30,000 in five consecutive monthly installments between the months of August and December 2020," says the Report.

In the case of annual joint ventures, salary increases were between 23% and 30% , "showing a strong slowdown with respect to the increases agreed in previous years." And the Report adds: “the Freight Transport, Brewing and Timber Industry agreements negotiated the highest percentages of increase (30%), while the poultry branch of the Meat agreement was located in the lower range of 23%. Meanwhile, the Banking and Aceiteros agreements negotiated increases that were in an intermediate position with salary improvements of 26% and 25%, respectively ”.

Regarding the fixed sum of $ 4,000, the most widely used criterion was to integrate the fixed sum to the basic agreement, preserving the proportionality between the professional categories (for example, wood and managers). Meanwhile, in the joint oil industry, the fixed sum was compensated with the payment of an extraordinary sum for one time only.

In the activities where the lowest percentages of salary increase are registered , review clauses were included before the end of the year . “For example, the equal number of bank employees will compare the agreed increase with inflation in November, the oil producers' union included it in August and building managers also in November of this year. On the other hand, truckers, which will have one of the highest percentages of increase in the calendar year, will review the parity only in February of next year ”.

NE