Pesos for People

We employ a few Dominican people. The next payday is rolling around. These folks and those that depend on them will not be able to make ends meet on their salaries.

What are other businesses doing about this. How are employers and business owners dealing with this problem in this inflationary climate?

I don't think the ratios are equal yet, things are too volatile - although prices are increasing. For an ordinary 'stock-up' of grocery shopping for our household, usually around 3,500-4000 pesos for a large shop, the bill was above 5000 pesos today. This is at the Sosua Playero, which is sometimes pricy, nevertheless, it was an ordinary shopping trip, stocking up on washing powder and such mundane stuff. I also see a slow increase in requests for staff loans - for food, a day or so before the end of the payperiod. And a staff loan is very hard to get out of me. I rather do budget planning which is seen as a punishment, and the staff avoid this lecture like the plague.

A few restaurants on the Cabarete beach are beginning to quote prices in dollars.

I'm in two minds about this whole issue in terms of running a business.
On the one hand, I don't want to take responsibility at all for the financial mess and have my employees think that I will bail them out. And on the other hand, I don't want people who work for me to suffer.
We're not a big company, so I was thinking of 'creating' two or three more part-time/temp jobs and offer those to other members of the families - maybe older kids. Just to increase the total amount that a family takes home. The secret would be to create these jobs as revenue producing jobs. Of course this is only possible because we are a small company.

What about the larger free zone companies out there?.