from london to buenos aires

[Malvinas]

Hi,

I am a 23 yo girl from London, and will be moving to ba in august for at least 6 months for an internship in the human rights field. The position is unpaid though, so I was wondering what sort of work was available for expats on a part time basis? ( I plan on saving as much as poss before moving)
By way of background, I have a law degree and speak fluent spanish and french. Are teaching jobs hard to come by (without a tefl certificate?) Is there a market for french teachers?? I also have waitressing/bartending experience- is it possible to find a decent paying job in a restaurant/bar? Lastly, I am trying to get an idea of how much I would need to save, is 400 pounds a month a reasonable budget, for a room in a shared flat+ expenses, either in palermo or san telmo??

Thanks!

Jelia

What kind of human rights work is there to be done in BA? Will you try to track down some of the still missing desparecidos?

 

[Malvinas]

I could be wrong about that, for sure. It was something a friend of mine told me, but I wasn't sure of whether it was a legal thing, or a perceived thing.

However, having actually employed Argentinos here (in non-union jobs) what I know for sure is that when an Argentino discusses salary, what he is talking about is what he will actually take home, not what is his actual salary. It is up to the business then to calculate what the actual salary is that gets reported, then pay/withhold, what-have-you, the amounts for taxes, social security, union fees, et al. and make it so that the amount agreed upon between employee and business finds its way to the employee's hand.

As I remember, the company is responsible for paying roughly 40% in taxes for employee salaries (above what the employee is obstensibly responsible for), including social security and income taxes, among other things. that's on top of what the employee supposedly pays.

The employee, if I remember correctly, is responsible for roughly 19%.

The amounts might have changed in the last two years since I have employed anyone directly or I may not be remembering exactly. We changed to paying monotributos only last year.

Of course, you will not get an employee to agree to 3000 pesos a month and then accept that the company is going to actually only pay him 2430 when it comes time to write the check, hand out the cash, whatever. That 2430 represents the salary minus that 19% I mentioned (which again, may not be the exact number, but is close enough to illustrate the point I'm making).

BTW - that 19% does not include whatever percentage the employee has to pay to the union.

My point being that the guy is going to expect 3000 pesos, and it is up to the business to know that it will have to calculate that he has to pay 19% of taxes, soc. sec, health benefits, etc so instead of 3000 pesos he has to calculate that the actually salary of the employee is actually more like 3704.

And of course, now the business also has to add whatever percentage it is for the union to that total (let's say it's 5%, I don't actually know), which brings the guy's actual salary to roughly 3948 to pay the employee 3000.

Now, the business of course has to pay 40% (give or take) of 3948, not of 3000. A difference of about 379 pesos the employer has to pay additionaly because the REAL salary is not 3000 but rather 3948. Also, the employer's real cost to pay that employee 3000 is actually around 5500 (3948 + 1512 [40% of 3948]) with all taxes included that the employer pays. That is just straight payroll burden.

To the way many of us are used to thinking, that means that in reality the company is paying all taxes and fees. If the employee was paying it, he would accept that his salary was 3000 pesos and would take the money out of his salary himself to pay what he owed, just like his rent, utilities, etc. The difference? If the employee were actually paying his taxes and fees at 3000 pesos, then the emploer's cost at a salary of 3000 pesos would be 4200 pesos.

In this case, it's a matter of perception. However, one drawback to this is that even if you say that the employee really is paying the taxes and fees, and really knows that his salary is more than 3000, he doesn't care. When the union, for example, raises the rates, the business is now responsible for making sure that they raise the salary enough to accomodate that new percentage so the employee's salary stays at 3000.

The key element here is that the employee is not feeling the pain, and therefore not arguing with the union about the increase in fees (if such were to happen). Or saying "I'm not going to pay any more because I don't like something you're doing." It is the company that feels the pain. Since unions and employees are "in union" against the company, that leaves the company with little to no recourse.

If the company can't afford the increase, they are caught between a rock and a hard place. Now, in order to lay the employee off who won't accept a decrease in pay for example, the business has to pay a severance to let him go, which may be more expensive int he short or medium term than it was to raise his salary.

That's not even taking into account the union (the above about severance is just the law of the land), which probably won't let the business lay off the employee to begin with, unless he pays two times the severance. Even then it may not be a possibility.

I'm thinking, for example, what happened to Ford a couple of years ago when they were having problems and wanted to lay off some workers here but the union wouldn't let them. I didn't actually follow that to the end, so I don't know how that ended.



Well, that's where our opinions really differ. If there really is a union out there that is there only to do good for its members, I'd love to know which one.

Wow, 40% taxes? How prevalent is it for companies to pay under the table? When you go to a store, is the total price listed or do the add taxes when you get to the cashier?

 

[steveinbsas]

Wow, 40% taxes? How prevalent is it for companies to pay under the table? When you go to a store, is the total price listed or do the add taxes when you get to the cashier?

The only tax added to retail purchases is the 21% value added tax (IVA). It is always included in the price and is not the same as taxes paid by the employer.

Independent sellers and contractors (on mercado libre for example) sometimes offer two different prices and different types of invoices (facturas A and B). If the payer is subject to scrutiny from AFIP or must account to others (apartment consorcios, etc.), the tax will be paid and he will receive a factura A (en blanco). If not he will receive a factura B or a recibo but it's "off the books" (en negro).

Employees who work en negro have been known sue their former employers (especially foreigners) for the "tax benefits" they didn't receive while they were working.

 

[Lucas]

Troll detected. This thread is now a troll thread

 

[AlexfromLA]

LOL

* quite pleased with what I started *

And for the record I'm sure there are many more people in Argentina working for $2000 than there are that make $4000.

Our British friend here isn't going to get a unionized job. She will also be working in the black since I don't think she has a work visa or a work permit. I am simply being realistic.

 

[jelia]

Hi,

Thanks for all the replies (and the trade union tangent
Malvinas- the NGO I will be working for is called the Centre for Justice and International Law. Its a legal charity basically, and they represent victims in cases before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. Some of what they do is related to disappearances, ie forcing states to comply with their obligation to investigate/prosecute/ or compensate families in such cases.

I am happy to say I have managed to save a bit more than I initially thought and am now budgeting 600 pounds/month ( which is around 900USD/ 3000ARS i think). Might not be enough but its all I can afford at the moment!! This is why I won't need a super high paying job, just something casual to cover the extras. I was told to look into teaching Legal English in companies/law firms, does anybody know anything about that?

Also in terms of areas, I really don't know much about the different neighbourhoods, just that San Telmo/ Palermo seem to be mentionned a lot. I will be working on Av.Purreydon, in the 500s. Obviously I want somewhere thats relatively close by (max 30 min commute), but apart from that, I'm really not to fussy. My understanding was that Palermo/San Telmo are quite pricey, but that Villa Crespo for ex. is affordable and super close to Palermo...Anyway, any recommendations re housing would be much appreciated. Also, as a UK citizen, am I correct in thinking that I dont need to apply for a tourist visa before leaving and will be assigned one automatically once I land? (also does anyone know the price for this??)

Thanks

 

[mendozanow]

You are correct about the automatic tourist visa for UK citizens, free and for 90 days, no reciprocity fee for you.

In terms of finding legal English teaching at law firms, it involves a lot of leg work and building up cred.

 

[LAtoBA]

Hi,

Thanks for all the replies (and the trade union tangent
Malvinas- the NGO I will be working for is called the Centre for Justice and International Law. Its a legal charity basically, and they represent victims in cases before the Inter-American Court on Human Rights. Some of what they do is related to disappearances, ie forcing states to comply with their obligation to investigate/prosecute/ or compensate families in such cases.

I am happy to say I have managed to save a bit more than I initially thought and am now budgeting 600 pounds/month ( which is around 900USD/ 3000ARS i think). Might not be enough but its all I can afford at the moment!! This is why I won't need a super high paying job, just something casual to cover the extras. I was told to look into teaching Legal English in companies/law firms, does anybody know anything about that?

Also in terms of areas, I really don't know much about the different neighbourhoods, just that San Telmo/ Palermo seem to be mentionned a lot. I will be working on Av.Purreydon, in the 500s. Obviously I want somewhere thats relatively close by (max 30 min commute), but apart from that, I'm really not to fussy. My understanding was that Palermo/San Telmo are quite pricey, but that Villa Crespo for ex. is affordable and super close to Palermo...Anyway, any recommendations re housing would be much appreciated. Also, as a UK citizen, am I correct in thinking that I dont need to apply for a tourist visa before leaving and will be assigned one automatically once I land? (also does anyone know the price for this??)

Thanks

Jelia,

There are definitely parts of Palermo that are indeed pricey....but there are also places that are not. I live in Palermo Soho about a 10-15 minute walk / 5 minute taxi ride to Plaza Serrano (pretty popular for the nightlife)....and my rent with two roommates is US$400. I have my own room that came furnished. Coming from LA and DC.....400 bucks for a furnished place in a happening part of town is a steal to me. Have you tried craigslists? There really are a ton of good deals for foreigners there. Check it out.

What gets pricey is when looking for your own place...that bumps the rent up at least a couple to a few hundred dollars. I scrapped my original plan of living alone for Argentine roommates because I felt I would be able to connect and learn a lot more about the culture that way.

Saludos,

John