© Archyde.com/Enrique Marcarian
File photo: Customers buy vegetables and fruits in a market with lower prices to fight inflation in Buenos Aires
BUENOS AIRES, March 16 (Archyde.com) – Argentina raised the monthly minimum wage to 47,850 pesos (regarding $437) by the end of the year on Wednesday, the government said, an increase of 45%, below the annual rate of inflation.
The Council of the Minimum Vital and Mobile Salary of the country, made up of workers, employers and authorities of the national government and the provinces, agreed to the increase by 31 votes and one abstention.
“The parties will be able to request a new meeting for their review starting in August,” the Ministry of Labor said in a statement.
The increase comes amid a sharp acceleration in the rate of inflation in Latin America’s third-largest economy.
Thus, the Consumer Price Index (CPI) rose 4.7% in February, the largest increase since March 2021. The inflation rate increased 52.3% in the last 12 months.
The increase in the minimum wage will take place gradually, with an increase of 18% in April, 10% in June, 10% in August and 7% in December.
(1 dollar = 109.42 Argentine pesos)
(Reporting by Eliana Raszewski; Editing by Jorge Otaola)