Laws that scare

The Peruvian labor scenario has epic disproportions. Although there is currently no single law that brings together all the regulatory devices (rather the laws are dispersed and disjointed) the reality is that these, despite pursuing a noble goal, end up suffocating investments.

Peru—like Brazil and Cuba—has the largest number of vacations in the region, with thirty (30) paid days per year. It is a far cry, for example, from countries like Mexico, where the maximum number of paid vacations is only six days per year. While in Ecuador, Chile and Colombia the national codes establish fifteen (15) paid days for each year of work.

Likewise, our country has a total of 28 types of paid leaves. These range from leave for preventive exams, for breastfeeding, for summonses, for training, for private reasons, for holding a civic position, for union representation, among others. In contrast, countries like the United States carefully regulate sick leave at the federal level, leaving a wide margin of dependence on company policies.

“Materially, how many does that benefit? Only the number of people who work formally. We are a country that works informally. All these benefits only benefit twenty-five people for every 100, that is, those who are on the payroll,” says Daniel Paniura, specialist in labor law.

Although there is no unemployment insurance in Peru, there is an amount that is paid for the same purpose: the CTS. The employer must deposit an extra salary per year, which can be collected when the worker stops working. According to the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), only nine countries in the region maintain this benefit. And in countries like Chile and Argentina itself, the CTS does not amount to one salary per year, while in Peru both micro and small businesses are obliged to pay it.

In the United States, the minimum wage varies depending on each state (or region), unlike our country, where the minimum wage is the common denominator that prevails in poor and rich regions, as well as among solid businessmen and small farmers. The minimum wage has increased progressively over the last decade, with the last modification in May 2022, which set a minimum of S/ 1,025 soles per month.

Although Peru is a country subject to international labor standards, the expansion of benefits has mainly come from legislative initiatives by Congress, turning its back on real economic progress.

Behind the guise of “state benevolence” the real thing is that employers stop incorporating their workers into the payroll and “what they do is resort to ‘legal strategies’ so that not everything is remunerative and thus be able to reduce costs,” he adds. the expert. According to a study published in 2018 by the International Labor Organization (ILO), in Latin America and the Caribbean there are about 140 million workers without a formal contract out of a total of 263 million.

As recalled, the Congressional Labor and Social Security Commission, since 2016, has been chaired by leftist parties such as the Broad Front, Nuevo Perú and the Magisterial Block. In this period, special labor regimes were approved in the private sector, complementary retirement funds, AFP withdrawals, new holidays, among others.

Precisely on that point, the last holiday incorporated is next July 23, in honor of José Abelardo Quiñones, hero of the FAP. There are now sixteen national holidays in which no one should go to work.