In spite of the attention the Senate’s approval of the 30% increase to the minimum wage received in the national press and media, the process is not yet finished. Yesterday, the president of the Chamber of Deputies, Alfredo Pacheco, told reporters that the chamber had yet to even read the legislation and that they would be examining the Senate version. Nevertheless, the deputies’ version envisions an even larger increase, according to El Caribe. Pacheco said he did not see any problem in the fact that the Senate had passed a wage bill, but the intention of the Chamber of Deputies is to ratify a bill that will include a general wage increase, not just an increase in the minimum wage. The chamber leader said that as his deputies study the proposals from the PRSC and the PRD, if the Senate gives final approval to a wage increase, a decision will rest on the Chamber of Deputies and the three different proposals will be worked out. The PRSC project is aimed at bringing about a 30% wage increase for all employees, not just minimum-wage earners.
At the same time, the National Council of Business (CONEP) organization, headed by Elena Viyella de Paliza, is trying to call the National Commission on Salaries into session. The business community wants to review just the minimum wage, and requested that Labor Minister Jose “Monchy” Ramon Fadul convene a meeting of the commission. CONEP wants to review the possibility of increasing the minimum wage in the private sector as a measure to counterbalance the lost purchasing power suffered by the Dominican peso.