Pursuant to the President Alvaro Colom's decision ordaining a 96 cent hike in the daily minimum wages, the textile and clothing firms in Guatemala propose to lay off around 6,000 workers within this month, an organization representing Guatemala's textile and clothing manufacturers stated.
The Guatemalan Textile and Apparel Industry Commission (Vestex) Chief, Carlos Arias revealed that in order to cover their costs, the firms would impose a 10 percent cut in their payrolls, during the current month.
He further stated that, the textile and clothing being the prime export sector of the country constitutes around six percent of the country's overall gross domestic product, and also serves as a source of livelihood for around 70,000 families.
Vestex has urged the President to review the negative effects of the decision of 96 cent wage hike and to significantly reduce this hike.
Arias said that, as the clothing and textile producers in Guatemala do not have that capacity to afford to pay such high wages keeping into consideration the present global scenario, they are left with just one option which would aid their survival and that is to cut down on the worker's strength.
Fibre2fashion News Desk - India