The global panorama is becoming more complicated every day and in developing countries the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and the war between Ukraine and Russia they create difficulties at a commercial level and, above all, cause rises in the prices of products in the family basket.
“The inflation deteriorates the standard of living employees due to the increase in the cost of the family shopping basket. That is the effect of the current world crisis. The non-immediate effect is the economic recession, which would be the cause of the dismissal of workers. That is an eventuality that remains on the world scene if the crisis is prolonged, but it is not the situation of the country in the short term, “said Rafael Espinal, coordinator of the economics career at Intec.
It indicates that, currently, there is only an effect on the increase in the cost of basic goods and the deterioration of social welfare.
Recently, the economist José Luis De Ramón said in a presentation at a thematic breakfast of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) that, from December 2019 to these days, the nominal wage increased 5.5% and the real fell 7.8%. , including salary increases.
“What happened was that, during the year 2020, the nominal salary fell 4.2 percent and the real lost 9.5 percent of the purchasing powerand then, with the increase in wages, the workers they were left with an average salary (all the people who are in the TSS). The real wage is around 92 percent of what it was in December 2020,” he explained.
Union sectors and micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) are not concerned about the dismissal of employees in the midst of an inflationary scenario, but rather the loss of purchasing power of the working class of the Dominican Republic, a sector that has seen the collapse of the gains made in salary terms in recent years.
“We have not thought about laying off anyone because, although prices are increasing and the logistics issue remains complicated, work continues, economic activity has not diminished”President of the Dominican Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Codopyme).
The president of the Dominican Confederation of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (Codopyme), Luis Miura, said that the president of the Republic has summoned the different sectors to the price table, where they have discussed measures to try to maintain the stability.
“Yes, we are willing to sacrifice and explore ways to stabilize prices. It’s hard; we are barely recovering and we are getting into another crisis, but what we have (to do) is to collaborate with the government and incentivize the industries”, he indicated.
It understands that it is necessary to try to find alternative channels and look for new supply markets and ways to reach the final consumer. Try to simplify the intermediary chain, even temporarily.
“Verify closely the margins of the commercial sector and an awareness campaign that is needed. I believe that an awareness campaign must be carried out, of reasoning because, although we are not at war, we must make known what a war economy is, ”he added.
On the other hand, Gabriel Del Río, president of the Autonomous Class Trade Union Confederation (CASC), said that he is concerned about how inflationary levels are impacting the working class and the purchasing power has been reduced in a “brutal” way.
“When you have a gallon of oil that cost you 175 pesos and now it costs you more than 300 pesos, we are talking about a rise of more than 100 percent, and thus you compare all prices in a general sense. Except for the prices of many agricultural products, which have remained stable, but in general, we are experiencing a complex situation”, he explained.
