finance

Salary index sought

The Consejo Nacional de la Empresa Privada (CONEP) questioned the lack of evidence supporting the potential economic impact of a new salary index bill during a debate yesterday before the Comisión de Trabajo of the Asamblea Nacional.

The new bill seeks to establish a national index to aid in adjusting the wages of state and private sector employees, to keep pace with changes in inflation and the cost of living.

Virgilio Manuel Aizpurua, representing CONEP, said he was concerned that the initiative was broached without the economic analysis to back it up.

Diputado Leandro Avila, who supports the bill proposal, said it is necessary for the state to take a strong stance on minimum wage policy, since oil prices continue to rise along with the prices of essential goods. He noted that the current minimum wage does not reflect current economic conditions, and that the government should take measures to prevent the imbalance from getting worse.

If approved, the new wage index would be applied to earnings accrued before the first day of the second month of each fiscal year. This model has already been tested in other countries such as Costa Rica and Colombia.

The part of the bill concerning the back pay of 150,000 public employees, was approved by the Comisión de Trabajo in its first debate yesterday. Those "13th month" payments, retained in 1989, 1990 and 1991, totaling an estimated $80 million. The Comisión has proposed issuing bonds and credits toward electricity, water and telephone services instead of paying cash.