In the Dominican Republic, 51.8% of the workers registered as of 31 December 2012, equivalent to 734,123 people, earned monthly salaries under RD$10,000. As of December, the Social Security Treasury had registered 1,415,992 workers.
Nevertheless, the monthly salary of this 51.8% of the workforce does not stretch enough to cover the expenses of the basic food basket for the first quintile, which is RD$10,407.56 based on Central Bank information, which is two years old.
Even more, according to the unions, with the approval of the tax reform, the basic food basket for the poorest quintile, now costs RD$12,560, but it also has to be noted that there are different minimum wages in the companies, all less than R$10,000 a month.
According to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) developed by the Central Bank in 2010, the average cost of the family food basket was RD$23,398.58. For the first quintile it was RD$10,407.56, for the second it was RD$15,005.43, for the third it was RD$18,545.95, the fourth was RD$24,368.00 and the fifth was RD$48,665.91.