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raferguson

Nov 26, 2008, 7:31 AM

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Trabajadores en negro

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I was reading the newspaper from Chile, and saw this phrase, "trabajadores en negro". This did not ring a bell, so I put it into Google. From the examples cited by Google, it appears that this refers to the informal economy, in which the employers hire someone without paying tax or unemployment or insurance to the government. The opposite would be "trabajadores en blanco". The analogous term in English would be "black market", or paying someone "under the table".

I think in Mexico, this concept might be expressed by saying "economia informal", although this refers more to businesses that don't pay taxes than employers who don't pay taxes. I hope others can come up with additional related phrases.

Always something new to learn.

Richard

http://www.fergusonsculpture.com

LintonRobinson

Nov 26, 2008, 8:52 AM

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Re: [raferguson] Trabajadores en negro

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So you're ruling out the possibility of ninjas?

esperanza

Nov 26, 2008, 10:11 AM

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Re: [raferguson] Trabajadores en negro

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Men in Black III?

http://www.mexicocooks.typepad.com

RosanaHart

Dec 12, 2008, 12:03 PM

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Re: [raferguson] Trabajadores en negro

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Makes me think of obra negra, said of an unfinished house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rosana Hart
http://www.mexico-with-heart.com

jerezano

Dec 13, 2008, 6:09 PM

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Re: [raferguson] Trabajadores en negro

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Hello,

Here is a quote from an Argentinian newspaper in reponse to an ASK search:

En febrero, los salarios de trabajadores en negro crecieron cinco veces más que los de registrados
18:55
Según el Indice de Salarios del INDEC, los sueldos de los empleados en el sector privado no registrado subieron un 4,27%, mientras que entre los trabajadores en blanco aumentó un 0,86%. En el sector público, el promedio de alza fue de 3,27%.

And here is one from Yahoo search:

Los trabajadores del Operativo Villas del Registro Único de Familias Beneficiarias (RUB) denunciamos al GCBA, a Jefatura de Gabinete, y a la Directora General de Coordinación y Seguimiento SANDRA CASTILLO, que nos mantiene como trabajadores en negro por la falta de firma de contratos. Desde mediados de Octubre se esta llevando adelante un operativo en las villas del CGP8, al que estamos afectados más de 100 trabajadores que permanecemos en una relación laboral irregular.

Does this help you with the idea in English?

In the US we would probably say undocumented worker or perhaps sub-standard wage employee to get the same idea across, that of a worker being paid below federal minimum wage.

jerezano

(This post was edited by jerezano on Dec 13, 2008, 6:25 PM)