The National Council of Business (CONEP) has challenged the resolution drafted by the National Salaries Commission (CNS) that imposed a 30% increase on the minimum wage for private sector workers, and a 25% increase for those employees that earned above the minimum wage and less than RD$20,000 per month. CONEP’s argument is that the resolution signed between the business sector and the unions and extends beyond the realm of CNS’s authority. Nonetheless, CONEP has asked its membership to comply with the 25% increase in wages for those employees that earn between the minimum wage and RD$20,000, if they have not already done so. The agreement had established that the increase was not mandatory in the case of companies that had already augmented their employees’ wages in that proportion.
The president of the Chamber of Deputies announced that the commission studying the issue of a general increase in salaries will compare its findings with those of the Senate commission and then make a decision. One of the CONEP arguments is that the CNS is only authorized to deal with minimum wage issues, according to the law. A further bone of contention is that the resolution approved last 26 October does not include the fifth article that stated “In the case of a salary increase ratified by Congress, this agreement (on the minimum wage increase) is thereby annulled.”
In a letter from Elena Viyella de Paliza to the CNS, the CONEP spokesperson said that the commission has not redefined the parameters for small, medium and large enterprises needed to establish the minimum wage. Viyella pointed out that the resolution classified a medium-sized business as “any enterprise with RD$200,000 in capital,” which “any small market or corner store has.” Before forwarding the press release to El Caribe, Viyella assured the media that the business community would respect the agreement to raise the minimum wage by 30% for those earning more than RD$20,000 a month and 25% for those whose salary is above the minimum wage but less than RD$20,001 per month if these increases had not already taken place.
By challenging the CNS resolution, the mandate is technically put on hold and thus need not go into effect on 15 November as had been announced.