Multiple Argentine business associations spoke out against the two AR$30,000 bonuses for workers earning less than AR$400,000 a month — one of the measures announced by Economy Minister Sergio Massa on Sunday to counterbalance the economic impact of the 22% devaluation imposed two weeks ago.

In a series of communiqués, the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC, by its Spanish acronym), the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA, by its Spanish acronym), and the Argentine Confederation of the Medium Enterprise (CAME, by its Spanish acronym) claimed that the annual wage negotiations known as paritarias, and not the government, are what decide wage increases.

The UIA said the government should regulate the macro-economy and fight against inflation instead of altering “wage discussions through unilateral measures.” Nevertheless, the group indicated that its associated chambers and industries will “comply with the regulations in force.”

The CAC expressed “deep concern” for the measure. The association said it was “fully aware of the deterioration in the purchasing power of wages,” but added that “a good part of the country’s companies are in a delicate situation” due to stagnation and a decade of disorder in the macroeconomy. “[That] makes it infeasible for them to afford the bonus,” it continued.

The CAME said that “each sector of the economy and each particular company are going through different situations,” rejecting the notion of “unilaterally establishing general increases, even if the national government pays 50% of the increase.” For its part, the government announced that it would absorb 50% of the cost for micro-businesses and 100% of the cost for small businesses through tax exemptions.

“Micro, small, and medium-sized companies have been losing economically for several months, and this imposition will worsen this loss,” CAME continued. The organization went on to lambast the state’s “interference in private activity,” which it blamed for complicating “the natural relationship between employers and employees.”

“It also jeopardizes the weak situation of thousands of SMEs that are going through a scenario of extreme fragility, with costs that are permanently increasing, with the impossibility of importing basic inputs, and with a recession that is increasingly threatening consumption,” CAME added.

Multiple Argentine business associations spoke out against the two AR$30,000 bonuses for workers earning less than AR$400,000 a month — one of the measures announced by Economy Minister Sergio Massa on Sunday to counterbalance the economic impact of the 22% devaluation imposed two weeks ago.

In a series of communiqués, the Argentine Chamber of Commerce and Services (CAC, by its Spanish acronym), the Argentine Industrial Union (UIA, by its Spanish acronym), and the Argentine Confederation of the Medium Enterprise (CAME) said that the annual wage negotiations known as paritarias, and not the government, are what decide wage increases.

The UIA said the government should regulate the macro-economy and fight against inflation instead of altering “wage discussions through unilateral measures.” Nevertheless, the group said that its associated chambers and industries will “comply with the regulations in force.”

The CAC expressed “deep concern” for the measure. The association said it was “fully aware of the deterioration in the purchasing power of wages,” but added that “a good part of the country’s companies are in a delicate situation” due to stagnation and a decade of disorder in the macroeconomy. “[That] makes it infeasible for them to afford the bonus,” it continued.

The CAME said that “each sector of the economy and each particular company are going through different situations,” rejecting the notion of “unilaterally establishing general increases, even if the national government pays 50% of the increase.” For its part, the government announced that it would absorb 50% of the cost for micro-businesses and 100% of the cost for small businesses through tax exemptions.

“Micro, small, and medium-sized companies have been losing economically for several months and this imposition will worsen this loss,” CAME continued. The organization went on to lambast the state’s “interference in private activity,” which “complicates the natural relationship between employers and employees.”

“It also jeopardizes the weak situation of thousands of SMEs that are going through a scenario of extreme fragility, with costs that are permanently increasing, with the impossibility of importing basic inputs, and with a recession that is increasingly threatening consumption,” CAME added.