The month of January ends and, despite the promises, The government did not convene the Minimum, Living and Moving Wage Council (SMVM). And there is no certainty as to when he might be called up.
So, the minimum wage and unemployment benefits They remain with the December values, although it is estimated that the January price increase could be between 20 and 24%.
In 2023 the minimum wage had an increase of 151.8% compared to inflation of 211.4%. A loss of 19%..
In relation to the basic food basket, the decline was greater, equal to 25%.
In fact, the SMVM Council they were supposed to be called 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 between the 20th and 30th of this month.
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 trade unionists of the CGT and the CTA and the representatives entrepreneurs like the UIA. It constitutes a sort of national joint which can indicate 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, living and mobile wage has shown a negative trend since 2011, particularly strong in the last two years of Mauricio Macri’s government and in 2020.” This decline was even greater than the actual loss in recorded wages.”
Then, “between 2021 and 2022, in a context of rising inflation, there were seven cases of updating the minimum wage, which they failed to recover 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 must receive in cash without family responsibilities for their working day. It must ensure adequate food, decent housing, education, clothing, healthcare, transportation, recreation, holidays and pension coverage. AND must be adjusted periodically based on changes in the cost of living.
It is more than evident that those who receive the SMVM, in addition to the possible collection of the family salary per child, find it impossible to cover all the requirements established by the Law on employment contracts when The poverty basket for a typical family is approximately $500,000, without calculating the 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 how reference on unregistered or informal workers.
Also affects the income tax exemption for workers earning less than 15 SMVM (today $2,340,000)
It also affects the non-garnishment rate of wages, which is equal to the amount of the minimum wage, excluding food 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.
Source: Clarin
