Thursday, September 29, 2011

It's A Crying Shame

There are labor laws in this country.  As an employer, I do not like all of them, but I obey them.  One of those laws is a minimum wage.  It is not much compared to the minimum wage in the States. 

We have a friend, a young female (young as in early twenties).  She has been looking for a job and cannot find one.  This is not unusual because there is 30% unemployment in this country.  She is getting discouraged.  She was finally offered a job at the food court in the mall.  The potential employer offered her 500 limpira a month, 125 a week to work six days a week.  This would break down to almost 21 limpira a day, or when converted to US dollars, slightly more than one dollar.  A dollar a day.  Anyone trying to live on that is considered to be in extreme poverty.  Most people in extreme poverty do not have a job.  Most people that are gainfully employed and working six days a week may still live in poverty, but not extreme poverty.  Needless to say, after this job offer, she was still discouraged.  This is a crying shame.  It is more than that.  It is outrageous.  It is criminal.

I wish I could say this is an isolated incident in Honduras.  But it is not.  Many employers do this type of thing.  I don't know how they get by with it.  But they know, with 30% unemployment, someone can usually be found to work for this kind of wages.  Of course, many people can't work for those wages if they have to ride the bus.  The bus fare alone could cost up to 30% of that dollar. 

This angers me.   Not there is anything I can do about it.  But it angers me. 

Terri

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