Despite the promises, The Government continues to delay the convening of the Council on the Minimum, Living and Moving Wage (SMVM)after the minimum wage had been reached during 2023 an increase of 151.8% compared to an inflation estimated at 210%. That’s a 19% loss.
In relation to the basic food basket, the drop exceeds 25%.
He The SMVM Council was supposed to convene in December to define the values for the first months of 2023. Then, it was promised to convene it for the first days of January and then from the 20th of this month. For now, and even more In the midst of the CGT strike there is no official call.
Meanwhile, workers paid by the hour or day continue to receive their December rates despite very high inflation.
The SMVM for December was $156,000 in monthly payments or $780 per hour. In December 2022 it was $61,953 monthly or $309.77 per hour.
The SMVM Commission brings together members of the CGT and CTA trade unions and business representatives such as the UIA. It constitutes a sort of national parity that can set the percentages of wage increases that unions and employers would be willing to accept for all activities.
According to CIFRA (Research and Training Center of the Argentine Republic), “the purchasing power of the minimum wage, vital and mobile shows a negative trend since 2011which was particularly strong in the last two years of Mauricio Macri’s government and in 2020. This decline was even greater than the real loss of registered salaries.
Then, “between 2021 and 2022, in a context of growing inflation, there were seven update instances of the minimum wage, who have not obtained a recovery of their purchasing power. The year 2022 ended with an average decline in the real minimum wage of 1.3%, which placed it 33% below the 2015 level.” With the loss in 2023 the drop is 45%.
The law on employment contracts attributes three characteristics to the minimum, living and mobile wage. It is the lowest salary that the worker without family responsibilities must receive in cash for his working day. It must ensure adequate food, decent housing, education, clothing, healthcare, transportation, recreation, holidays and pension coverage. And it must be adjusted periodically based on changes in the cost of living.
It is more than evident that those who receive the SMVM, plus the possible collection of the family salary per child, find themselves unable to cover all the requirements established by the law on employment contracts when the poverty basket for a typical family is about $500,000, not including rent. The SMVM is therefore not minimal, it is not vital nor mobile with respect to the level and increase in prices.
The minimum wage affects registered monthly or daily workers who earn less than the monthly or hourly minimum wage. And indirectly as a reference to unregistered or informal workers.
Also affects the income tax exemption for workers earning less than 15 SMVM,
It also affects the wage non-garnishment fee. which is equivalent to the amount of the minimum wage, excluding maintenance debts. From this value, an increasing percentage is applied to the difference between the salary received and the SMVM.
Moreover, adjusts the minimum retirement for those who retired with 30 or more years of contributions without resorting to moratoriums. In these cases it must be equal to 82% of the SMVM.
In turn, the unemployment benefit cannot be less than 50% nor more than 100% of the current living and moving minimum wage, depending on the employee’s seniority in the company where he was dismissed without just cause.
SN
Source: Clarin
