The Fernández government said that there would be no salary increases for public employees this year. This decision affects the administrative employees of the Universidad Autónoma de Santo Domingo, that had accepted an 8% in order to desist from the month-and-a-half strike that had impeded the commencement of the semester at the state university. The UASD rector had conditioned the increase in wages to the central government funding the raise. The decision also affects the aspirations of public hospital physicians and nurses that had aspired to an increase in wages. The Fernández administration said it would continue with its efforts to increase the buying power of Dominicans in general, by reducing the prices of food staples, especially now that fuel prices have been declining.
