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The CTA requested an increase of more than 50% for the minimum living and mobile wage - Infobae
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La CTA pidió una suba de más de 50% para el Salario mínimo vital y móvil
La Central de Trabajadoras la Argentina Autónoma (CTA) presentará una propuesta de aumento del 51,7% en el marco de la próxima reunión del Consejo del Salario de la semana que viene
www.infobae.com
April 26, 2024
The Central Workers of Autonomous Argentina (CTA) will present a proposal for a 51.7% increase within the framework of the next meeting of the Salary Council next week
By Ludmila Di Grande
The minimum wage currently reaches $202,800 and is one of the lowest in the region (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko, File)
After the failure of the last meeting and in the run-up to Worker's Day, the Government convened the National Council on Employment, Productivity and the Minimum, Vital and Mobile Wage (SMVM) for next April 30. In this context, the Central Workers of Autonomous Argentina (CTA) will seek an increase of 51.7% for April.
If the request is validated, according to sources from the entity to Infobae , in April the Minimum Wage would reach 307,607 pesos. This is the basis with which increases in other benefits such as the AUH and the Potential Work plan are also defined.
Currently, it reaches $202,800, an amount that was defined by decree after the Council failed to reach an agreement at the February meeting. The unions were looking for an increase of 85%, that is, taking it to 288,600 pesos. But the Executive decided to grant a 30% increase over the previous $156,000 in two tranches.
The Executive's call comes in a context of a sharp drop in purchasing power and although inflation is slowing, it accumulated a 51.6% increase in the first quarter of the year.
According to CTA estimates, compared to November 2023, the minimum wage experienced a real drop of 27%. The annual comparison with March 2023 registers a real loss of 24.8%, and accumulates a drop of 36.4% in relation to December 2019, 46.7% in relation to December 2017 and 51.4% in relation to as of December 2015.
The evolution of the SMVM (Source: CTA)
In this sense, they stated: “If you want to recover the levels at the end of 2019, an increase in the SMVM of 74.2% is required to reach a nominal amount of $353,261. In the event that the strategy consists of recovering the existing level at the end of 2015, the necessary increase would be 127.8% to reach an amount of $462,064 in the month of April."
“In order to maintain the real value of each proposal, we must also consider the price evolution projected for the coming months, which, according to the REM-BCRA, estimates an inflation rate of 9.2% in May, 8.2% in June and 7.9% in July. For example, considering the strategy of setting the salary floor at real values in November 2023, the amount of the minimum wage should be $335,863 in May, $363,245 in June and $392,020 in July 2024," they added.
Furthermore, it should be noted that, at the moment, Argentina is among the countries with the lowest minimum wages in Latin America along with Nicaragua, Haiti, Cuba and Venezuela. Countries like Costa Rica, Uruguay and Chile double the income received in the country.
What is the impact of an increase in the minimum wage
The increase in the minimum wage impacts:- Access to the Universal Child Allowance: the permitted income is up to 1 SMVM.
- The minimum retirement cannot be below 82% of the SMVM
- Promote Work (beneficiaries of We Make the Future and Social Salary): 50% assistance from the SMVM.
- Accompany Program: it is at the same figure as the minimum remuneration, so its amount will also be affected if the increase in the current minimum wage is confirmed.
- Update of the reference salary for unregistered workers
- Progresar Scholarships: the maximum income allowed is 3 SMVM.
Furthermore, within companies, it reaches the General Regime of Sanctions for Labor Infractions of the Federal Labor Pact since infractions are penalized with fines of 25% to 2,000% of the Minimum, Vital and Mobile Wage (SMVM).
Economist Jorge Colina explained that unemployment insurance is currently 75% of the best remuneration of the last 6 months prior to dismissal. Although the amount cannot be less than 50% of SMVM, it must not exceed 100%. “This figure is normally part of the SMVM negotiation,” he said.
In this framework, Juan Luis Bour , Director and chief economist of the FIEL Foundation, pointed out that on the one hand. The increase in the minimum wage can affect public spending and, on the other hand, it functions as a basis for various collective agreements in the private and public sectors. Although there are salaries that are much higher, they have a clause associated with SMVM adjustments.
The specialist assured: “It is a variable that is used to moderate falls when undershooting (delay) is presumed . Sometimes used to pump low pay and at conventions, or kept low for anchoring. That is, to induce greater or lesser increases (although it does not directly impact, what influences is the rate of variation).”
