Living in Peru : your everyday companion

Info provided and translated by the
American Chamber of Commerce of Peru (AmCham Peru)

Before the current discussion about labor issues, the potential of Peru as an exporting country is at jeopardy.

While U.S. congressmen demand that the U.S. Administration negotiates with their Peruvian counterparts a side letter that satisfies US democrat’s labor concerns in the U.S.-ATPA, in order to consider a favorable vote on the agreement, the Peruvian congress just passed and scheduled a bill for plenary vote regarding the “General Labor Law”.

In the case of the U.S. Congress, it is quite worrisome that the approval of the ATPA fails to come out of a political trap.

The fear –or in some cases demagogy of some- about losing American jobs facing the chance of an eventual flee of investors towards Peruvian territories, is wrongly supported in the mistaken argument that states that our labor regulations are less protective than the American ones.

Nothing could be further from the truth. Formal workers are way more protected than Americans. Moreover, the ATPA is what will contribute to the generation of more formal jobs in Peru, thus reducing the hiring rate of workers to whom their rights are not respected.

Courtesy of

(By Manuel Cubas, General Manager of Cubas & Asociados)

The selection of new personnel is more than reviewing resumes, checking references and evaluating skills and capabilities; it is also vital to measure the compatibility of the new worker with the company’s organizational culture.

Carlos is confused, depressed and feels like a failure. He is 45 years old and was just fired from his position as head accountant of the company he worked for the last six months, based on poor performance. He doesn’t know what hit him.

For five years he was working quite satisfied for another company until the other company called him for this position. When they offered him a 30% increase, he didn't hesitate and accepted the offer. Nothing like this had ever happened before. His career had always improved and, if he left previous jobs, it was to accept others that turned out to be better.