Advances opinion that seeks to set criteria for raising the minimum wage

Unanimously, the Labor and Social Security Commission of the Congress of the republic yesterday approved the opinion that establishes the criteria for determining the minimum vital remuneration (RMV) and the periodicity of its readjustment.

The opinion, which now it will be raised to the plenary session of Congress for debate, suggests that the readjustment of the minimum salary It is not made before the first year after its last increase or after the second year after said increase.

Regarding the criteria that must be taken into account for the determination of the RMV, the initiative, presented by congresswoman María Agüero, from Peru Libre, proposes that inflation, the cost of living (basic family basket), the levels of productivity and the projections of the multiannual macroeconomic framework.

In addition, it is specified that the Ministry of Labor and Employment Promotion (MTPE), together with the National Institute of Statistics and Informatics (INEI), would establish the value of the basic family basket in the third quarter of each year.

Likewise, both entities must carry out the study of productivity levels, taking into account the information provided by the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MEF) and the Central Reserve Bank of Peru (BCRP), as well as that of the technicians of the workers and employers.

Joint evaluation

The ruling also states that, within the third quarter of each year, the representative organizations of workers and employers must submit their proposals for increasing the minimum wage, which must be duly substantiated.

However, it is specified that it will be the MTPE that —by means of a supreme decree— will finally define the incremental amount, which must be in accordance with the criteria and the established periodicity, as well as with the participation of workers and employers within the framework of the National Council for Labor and Employment Promotion (CNTPE).

Finally, if approved in plenary, the Executive will have to issue a regulation.

The data

Revision. It is worth specifying that the PEMT indicated that in the first half of this year the minimum wage could be raised, after this issue is discussed in the CNTPE. Currently, the RMV amounts to S/ 930, being its last increase in 2018.