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The increase in the minimum wage is one of the issues that begins to gain more strength as the days go by. The discussion has reached such a level of intensity that the Banco de la República (characterized by its prudence in the face of this debate) released its point of view and its advice regarding what should be established before the end of 2020.
According to the Director of the Issuer, Juan Jose Echavarría, the minimum increase must be based on inflation and productivity expectations.
This was stated in the most recent meeting of the Board of Directors, where Echavarría also revealed that the Bank will maintain an inflation target of 3%.
“The Bank is quite cautious on this front, traditionally the only thing that the Bank does is present its inflation projections, which in that case, those of the coming year, which are the ones that interest us, are close to 2.8% or 2, 9% What did we say at the bank? That a formula that we like is that, hopefully, inflation expectations, which are close to 3%, and labor productivity were taken into account. This labor productivity is generally calculated by National Planning, ”he said.
Echavarría stated that, taking into account that unemployment in Colombia is over 10% and that there are serious structural problems at the labor market level, it is best to adjust to the formulas to avoid an increase in the level of unemployment and worrying inflation peaks.
The lawyer and economist Jose Roberto Acosta He told Pulzo that the Banco de la República’s appreciation is correct, taking into account the situation that the national economy is going through due to the coronavirus pandemic.
“If we look at figures, there was a 10-year setback in poverty, inequality and unemployment. The mere fact that someone maintains the same salary that they had a year ago is a gain, “he said.
Among the negotiators ‘proposals, one of the most striking is that of the workers’ representatives, who ask to raise the minimum wage to one million pesos, plus a transportation aid of $ 120,000, as raised a few days ago by the workers’ centrals.
Taking into account that the minimum monthly salary for 2020 is $ 980,567, José Roberto Acosta considers that the workers’ proposal is viable and that, compared to other countries, it is a low figure.
“We are facing a global phenomenon: the deterioration and pauperization of the labor market; that is being generated by this COVID-19 pandemic. The labor market is the most difficult to administer and the one that affects people the most ”, he concluded.
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