Minimum wage languishes 37 years with lost buying power

Santo Domingo.- The National Salary Committee (CNS) will meet Wed. to try to set the non-sectored minimum wage with a 30% increase and reference to all revisions made since the 2000s, as the minimum salary’s current purchasing power is lower than in 1979.

Prior to the three-party meeting -Government, employers and workers- workers proposed a 30% increase while employers have yet to make an offer, claiming that the issue of company classification must be defined first.

Inflation, which is the economic issue used as reference, puts increase limits on salaries by type, because the consumer price index (CPI) increased by one digit in the last two years , the same period covered by the current minimum wage structure. It’s in effect in the private sector since June 1, 2013.

The minimum monthly wage for big business is RD$11,292; RD$7,763 for medium companies; RD$6,880 for small companies, RD$9,526 for private guards, and RD$234.00 per 10-hour day for farm workers.

There are another 16 minimum wages for sectored workers such as plumbers, electricians, masons, painters, and carpenters, rates that will be also subject to revisions.