Government of Argentina announces 20% increase in minimum wage

The Government of Argentina announced yesterday, Tuesday, Nov. 22, a 20 percent increase in the minimum wage after reaching an agreement with business and trade union entities to guarantee purchasing power in the face of high inflation in this country.

The salary increase will be made in four installments consisting of seven percent in December, six percent in January, four percent in February, and three percent in March, according to a press release from the Casa Rosada (the seat of the Executive).

The Executive agreed on the increase with representatives of the General Labor Confederation, the Argentine Workers’ Central, and other business chambers that are part of the Wage Council.

In this way, the statement added that the basic remuneration will increase from 57,900 pesos (about 352 dollars, according to the official exchange rate) to 69,500 pesos (422 dollars) in March 2023.

The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security of the South American country assured that with the new increase, the total wage increase between March this year and the same month of 2023 is 110.5 percent.

After the agreement, the Minister of Labor, Raquel Kismer de Olmos, indicated that “the criterion was to establish a balance between the indexes of December and January, where the aim was to restore the purchasing power of the minimum living and mobile wage, and for February and March to set an index consistent with the National Government’s plan to break the high inflation”.

The salary increase in Argentina occurs amid high inflation, which accumulated an increase of 76.6 percent up to last October.

According to estimates of private analysts consulted by the Central Bank of Argentina (BCRA), the South American country will end 2022 with a price increase of one hundred percent year-on-year.

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