New trends in wage policies

Up to a few years ago, wages policy was a central instrument of macroeconomic policy in Latin America, and there was a great deal of State intervention in it. Now, in the early part of the 1990s, however, the countries of the region are mostly in a more balanced macroeconomic situation and have gone a long way in their process of trade openness. Both these factors heighten the importance of costs, in view of the need to maintain the competitiveness of national production, so that the search for instruments to facilitate control over costs, including labour costs, is now a constant concern. These changes of circumstances and of approach have reduced the role of the State in the area of wages and have transferred the matter to the enterprise level. With regard to wages, there are constant references to the need for wage flexibility and the need to link wages to productivity, although emphasis is usually placed on the supposed macroeconomic benefits to be derived from this approach. This article holds that not enough importance has been attached in the consideration of this issue to the motivational aspects at the enterprise level and the changes needed in the organization of the latter, and it is suggested that flexible wage systems must be adapted to the characteristics of the enterprise concerned if the latter is to attain its strategic objectives.