Poverty, inequality and the phenomenon of the poor worker
Introduction
Poverty has been throughout history a social phenomenon that afflicts many people. Why are you talking about phenomenon? A percentage of population that is in poverty fails to meet their basic needs. Unfortunately this is lived worldwide, due to the inequality of salaries, the types of income that a person has, whether formal or informal.
Why do we talk about inequality in work fields? In our country there are gaps at the salary level among workers, but what happens to the most helpless?
One of the tools that some workers have is the ILO that seeks to promote labor rights, promote decent job opportunities, improve social protection and strengthen dialogue when addressing issues related to work. What about informal workers?
The phenomenon of the poor worker is intertwined with poverty and inequality, since we refer to unemployment and lack of income of a person. What are poor workers?
"Eradicating poverty is an act of justice"
This was said by Nelson Mandala (Nation, 2005) at a press conference in London before the potential leaders, telling them that they should recognize that the world was hungry for actions and not by words, they would believe me that 15 years have passed and the improvements have notThey have seen themselves, but let’s start defining what is poverty?
Poverty is defined as the situation of not being able to meet the basic, both physical and psychological needs of a person, which entails the lack of resources such as food, housing, education, health care, drinking water or electricity, then under this definition it is clear that they are luxuries to some and for others only basic needs and the difference part of the different types of income, since the minimum income cannot be compared with an average salary, it is evident that the “basic needs"They will not be for all the same.
In our country a survey is carried out every two years to measure poverty (CASEN), national socioeconomic characterization, carried out by Mideplan, which analyzes specific indicators such as education, health, work and social security, housing and environment, networks and social cohesion. Another analysis is the measurement of income poverty, according to this, they must quantify the population that does not have sufficient resources to meet their basic needs and characterize this population segment to clearly see social problems trying to find among the public, private sectorand civil society a real solution this problem of never ending.
And as it could end if they go hand in hand with inequality, which is not very different from the definition of poverty, rather, it has much in common, since there are gaps that exist between people and social groups, both in termsof income, opportunities, accesses to quality social services, work the duration of the days and other spheres of well -being and it is precisely here that I clearly see that the highest percentage of unequal is evidenced in the female gender in every aspect, it is a constant struggleIn recent years, especially in the workplace, where the salary difference has not improved so far, however today during the development of societies, improvements of opportunities have been seen both at work and salary and other benefits,But in the vast majority these privileges have been for men leaving women with low remuneration and low social security coverage.
Now the conditions are really enough for workers? According to this question, we can mention that the law in Chile protects the worker, such as prohibiting employers that the conditions are not lower than those established, highlighted in the Labor Code.
We can say that if poverty is still latent in society, it will continue to be accompanied by inequality, generating poor workers.
The worker and its benefits
After the industrial revolution, the workers managed to acquire solutions to their legislative deficiencies, in this way the unions arise, in order to defend their interests in common before employers and governments.
Currently, workers have benefits such as;The working day, rest days, vacations, salaries, bonuses. In this way, the Labor Code has updated and incorporated other benefits such as, protection of breastfeeding and its exercise, modifies distance work and incorporates the tele-operators contract (Labor Directorate, 2020). But these "advances" are not enough, since as reported in ILOdeficient where millions of people cannot access optimal conditions, both in the economic sphere, health, well -being, material or equal opportunities. Although these jobs exist, workers with low -income countries are considered to live in extreme poverty and even moderate, continue to obtain poor conditions in the workplace. Therefore, it is incredible to think that there is still a large percentage of workers who even receiving remuneration that can be low or good, but that nevertheless, remain poor, which leads to not reaching their basic needs and also does not guarantee a jobthat meets the standards.
Lower remuneration in Chile
Did you know that in Chile, under the regulations of Law 21.112 mentions that the minimum wage is $ 320.500 (Labor Directorate, 2020), so, no worker should receive a salary lower than the stipulated. It should be noted that companies that pay less than stipulated to a worker will be sanctioned with large fines.
Now do you consider this just for Chilean families? If the basic expenses of a family start from light, water, heating (which are privatized to top) food, clothing, among others, which rise price every day, in addition to the extra debts that a worker and/orfamilies.
In this way you see the other side of the sidewalk, in which the difference is monstrous, since the parliamentarians of our country obtain salaries up to 34 times more than the minimum salary, which is considered an aberration for families. While a worker with a minimum salary has to borrow to reach the end of the month. Therefore there is inequality in our country, since there is poverty, crime, school deserters, cessations, since salary injustice is immensely large and in this way poor workers are generated who cannot meet with satisfying their needs. This is how the entrance to the credit world is generated so that in this way the fastest things can be obtained as essential objects such as: appliances, technology and even the purchase of food, however, the cost of resorting to thisoption is high, since the vast majority cannot supply or specify the total debt payment and ends in dicom.
The basic or primary needs of a person, are which meet the objective of satisfying the needs which depend on the survival of a person, such as: sleeping, breathing, hydrating, feeding, etc. These needs are related to the maintenance of the minimum standards that allow a human being to work well, this arises according to the importance or nature.
With respect to the previous years, prices of basic foods that can be purchased with the minimum wage have been compared, for this a food basket was developed, which is composed of eight products;bread, milk, eggs, rice, cheese, meat, fruits and vegetables. This list even though it is not very extensive contains what is necessary in both proteins, carbohydrates, fiber and minerals of an average adult person.
Chile and ILO legislation
What is the ILO?
The International Labor Organization was created in 1919, as part of the Versailles Treaty that ended with World War I, and reflected the conviction that social justice is essential to achieve universal and permanent peace (ILO, 1996)
The main objectives of the ILO are to promote labor rights, promote decent work opportunities, improve social protection and strengthen dialogue when addressing work related issues.
Chile has been a member of ILO since 1919. The country has ratified 62 agreements, of which 51 are in force, even the fundamental agreements.
There are 4 strategic objectives in the ILO mission.
- Promote and comply with the rules and principles and fundamental rights at work.
- Create greater opportunities for women and men to have decent jobs and income.
- Improve the coverage and effectiveness of social security for all.
- Strengthen tripartism and social dialogue. (ILO, 1996)
In Chile you can see a big difference between the salaries of men and women generating an inequality of income, as well as the salaries of parliamentarians and common work, which makes the salary difference more noticeable. Therefore, ILO strategic points must be strengthened, to regulate the inequality that exists in our country and thus generate jobs with greater opportunities for all types of workers.
Formal and informal workers
In the labor market there are formal and informal workers, those who differ in rights and protection during their working life, since informal workers lack these principles unlike formal workers who have a employment contract that gives them securityand wellness.
Under this context some employers favor them to hire informal workers or work under that premise (employment in black or irregular), since it saves money by not paying the loads corresponding to the social work, such as: family charges, health and impositions) impositions), they are generally jobs that are mostly paid and working conditions are deficient, although these companies prefer to run the risk that they may suffer demands for not having their workers in optimal conditions, in this way the informal worker looks disadvantaged, alreadythat cannot opt for legal protection, without compensation in the case of dismissal or guarantee your unemployment insurance. Unlike formal work which meets the requirements required by the Labor Law paying the contributions of its workers and their remuneration according to the market.
What effects can produce on the productivity of informal and formal companies?
Somehow the informal sector exerts competitive pressure on the formal, either;establishing low -cost prices, evading taxes and everything that leads to the compliance and legality of a company, since these regularizations can present a considerable burden for them for both small and microenterprises. Which does not mean that it is effective, since formal companies have greater guarantees by being regulated before the laws, they can obtain an economic support which guarantees capital or credits to continue working.
Why do you talk about the phenomenon of the poor worker?
Poverty is associated with the existence of unemployment and with the lack of income among other needs. At present, unemployed is no longer poor, even having work does not guarantee you to get out of it, since resources are insufficient and evidence that the work has ceased to be the poverty remedy
The most affected part in this segment is the informal worker, such as the worker who develops in the street sales area, as well as those who have contracts to fees, none of these examples have the rights established by the regulations, such as: rest for holidays, compensation for years of service, right to the annual holiday, among others.
What would be the solutions to these problems?
According to the current situation that several workers live here in Chile and in the world we must think about the future, but that it is not distant rather, closer, human with the rights of workers, so let’s consider that change must startfor equal conditions in all workers.
As an initial idea, there should be a free and free financial education for all young people, which must ideally be taught in secondary education, focused on the middle rooms and reinforce them in all professional careers. In this way it can be taught from a very young age as they should behave about indebtedness and how to know specifically behave before finances. With the objective that people generate correct decision making to avoid over -indebtedness and thus adequately manage their income.
As a second option they should increase training for all types of workers which must be quality and relevant to the professional growth of each worker. In this way, guarantee that these training are disseminated in such a way that they reach workers with less resources and to get in the options provided, which can be accessible to the worker who works from Monday to Friday.
The minimum salary approximately forty years ago that it has not obtained notorious changes in its increase, so it has been a debt to workers, which should be updated realistically and concretely towards a decent salary for human capital that is a valuable resourcewithin companies.
For informal segment workers, there must be a regulatory framework that protects their rights in the workplace and in their finances, balancing all the needs that leads to improve stability and safety. Thus also ensure that within the laws they are incorporated both as workers and at the same time as microentrepreneurs.
It is essential that public policies on work issues advance in a practical way, be renewed and reviewed annually, with the purpose of improving working conditions, both accessibility and income.
conclusion
We can visualize that the work ceases to be relevant since it does not solve inequality and poverty, since it is not guaranteed that a remuneration solutions the problems that a worker has, this is called the phenomenon of the poor worker, which is increasingWorldwide, so it seeks to incorporate strategies, with the purpose of raising awareness about the problems that afflict workers.
It should be noted that there is still much to address and improve on labor issues, since there are segments of workers who do not have the same conditions and this exposes them to live in a situation of inequality, which continues to be a challenge for society. We have seen that for formal workers their conditions have been improved, however these are not enough to meet their needs, so it is essential to review and specify labor laws so that in this way everyone has access to a worthy future. However, to change this paradigm, an education would be generated by financing aimed at the youngest, with the objective of delivering tools and knowledge to prevent the phenomenon of the poor worker, since currently it is still insert.
The purpose that ILO should have is to make workers happy in their jobs, so that they obtain a satisfactory quality of life.
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