The Peruvian youth group Dignity Collective will hold another demonstration Monday afternoon to protest against a new labor law approved earlier this month which undermines many labor rights for young workers.
According to the organization, the Youth Labor Law will benefit transnational corporations, as it reduces vacation time, cuts a series of bonuses, and lowers wages. Even though the law only applies for people between the ages 18 and 24, critics expect for these corporations to fire older employees and replace them with young people to take advantage of the law.
Monday’s scheduled protest follows one of the biggest protests recorded over the last 10 years when thousands of young people marched in the streets of Peru’s capital Lima on Friday.
The International Labor Organization (ILO) has criticized the new legislation, making it clear that the informal labor sector will not diminish, which is one of the principal claims made by the Peruvian government to justify the reforms.
The unemployment rate amongst young people between 18 and 25 years old in Peru is of 9.2 percent. From the ones employed in the same age range, 80 percent work under temporary contracts, which facilitate the process of firing employees.
Under current labor laws, the indirect benefits account for 54 percent of the total labor costs, while with the new Youth Labor Law it will account for only 14 percent, being the lowest in the Peruvian labor system.