14.2.13
About 600,000 employees might be facing wage cuts of up to 30% in the next three months, should any of the 42 industry labor agreements expiring today not be renewed. At least 1.2 million employees in the private sector have signed individual contracts following the expiration of industry agreements.
It is estimated that about 60% of private sector employees have had unfavorable changes to the terms of their employment, whether through individual labor agreements or other forms of flexible employment, such as job rotation. By the end of 2013, 80% of private sector employees will have signed individual or business-specific agreements.
Following the three months, the only terms that are preserved are the basic wages and the benefits regarding seniority, children, studies and dangerous work. Therefore, beyond redefining wages by signing an individual labor agreement, employees also lose all benefits provided by collective labor agreements.
The National General Collective Labor Agreement also expires at the end of Mach, meaning that 350,000 unskilled workers will have to sign individual labor agreements.
