March ends and the government did not convene the Minimum, Living and Moving Wage Council (SMVM) to define the increase for April and subsequent months, despite at the end of the first quarter of this year the minimum wage had a loss of 15.8%.
The last meeting took place in February and, due to the lack of agreement between business and union representatives, the Secretary of Labor had to speak. And he set, “skipping” the month of January, the monthly value at $180,000 or $900 an hour for February and $202,800 for March or $1,014 an hour.
Compared to December ($156,000 for those paid monthly or $780 an hour), March’s $202,800, They are equivalent to a 30% increase.
January-February inflation was 36.6% plus an estimate of 13% for March, which would translate into a price increase of 54.36% versus 30% in the first quarter. It represents a worsening of 15.8%.
This loss is in addition to that of 2023 when the minimum wage increased by 151.8% against inflation of 211.4%. That’s a 19% loss.
Compared to the basic food basket, the decline exceeded 25%.
The December SMVM 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 from the CGT and CTA and representatives of companies such as the UIA in a sort of national joint meeting. If the parties do not agree, the Government adjudicates.
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 autumn it was even greater than the actual loss of recorded wages”.
Then, “between 2021 and 2022, in a context of rising inflation, seven updates to the minimum wage occurred, which did not achieve a recovery of its 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 poverty basket for a typical family in February was $690,901.57, not including rent. It should be around $780,000 in March, without rent.
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.
It also establishes that anyone who retires with 30 or more years of contributions (without resorting to moratoriums) They have the right to collect 82% of the SMVM,
In January and July it will also impact the income tax exemption for workers earning less than 15 SMVM. And on the greater net taxable income accumulated on the excess of fifteen 15 SMVM.
It also affects the salary non-garnishment compensation 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.
Source: Clarin
