Flags of Puerto Rico and USA. Arturo de La Barrera/Flickr. Some rights reserved.
On January 26, 2017 the conservative governor of Puerto Rico signed a bill, commonly known in the Caribbean archipelago as the Labor Reform. In ‘rice and beans’ – as Puerto Ricans colloquially refer to explain puzzling concepts – this bill flexibilizes and deregulates even more the insular labor market. The main motive behind the labor reform, according to the actual government, is to create an investment climate, reduce operational costs of businesses and increase the competitiveness of Puerto Rican firms. There are a number of issues and implications to the Puerto Rican labor force and the labor rights that have been disrupted with the reform, including the hypothetical positive relationship between flexibilization and employment creation. Awareness of the historical context of the Puerto Rican economic and fiscal crisis is also relevant to the case.
What changes with the Labor Reform?
