SANTIAGO – After long negotiations between the government and the opposition, there finally has been made a deal on the increase of the minimum wage in Chile. Earlier sessions failed in Congress, but now the government has agreed with an adjustment to the salaries. “As in every agreement, both parts have shown good disposition” Treasury Minister Felipe Larraín said.
After a 90-minutes session, the government and the opposition agreed to the adjustment of the minimum wage in Chile. The measure implies an increase of CLP$12,000 from September 1, and from March 1, 2019, the minimum wage will be increased to CLP$301,000. The agreement was reached after an earlier failed voting in Congress, in which the parliament rejected the substitutive proposal that president Piñera had introduced.
Treasury Minister Felipe Larraín reacted positive in regards to the successful meeting with the opposition. “We had a very good meeting with parliamentarians from the opposition, and we have made an agreement based on a proposal that we will release tomorrow. The government, parliamentarians from the party Chile Vamos, and parliamentarians from the opposition, have shown good disposition to approve the project. We will meet tomorrow in Congress. The project contemplates an adjustment from September 1 on, and it’s a 24-month agreement,” Minister Larraín explained.
[AHORA] Ministro @gblumel valora aprobación por unanimidad de la ley que reajusta #SalarioMínimo para los trabajadores más vulnerables de nuestro país: “Los acuerdos le hacen bien a Chile y a todos los chilenos” #ChileLoHacemosTodos @GobiernodeChile pic.twitter.com/nw1wRYxdqG
— Ministerio Secretaría General de la Presidencia (@Segpres) September 5, 2018
Further negotiations in 2020
Senator Ricardo Lagos Weber said that the agreement implies “an adjustment to the current wage, which is CLP$ 276,000, to 288,000 until March 2019. After March, the salary will increase to CLP$301,000 for one year.”
Senator Jorge Pizarro, from the party Democracia Cristiana, said that “today we discussed with parliamentarians that there should be a compensation, and that’s what the government has introduced. The adjustment that will increase the wage to CLP$288,000 from September on. An intermediate solution was sought within the agreement validity period. It implies that in August 2020, there will be a new negotiation before the municipal elections.”
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Editor-In-Chief Boris van der Spek is the founder of Chile Today.