National Committee on Salaries ends meeting without an agreement on salary increase
They will convene another meeting for next 26 March
Diario Libre
SD. The second meeting of the National Committee on Salaries (CNS), held yesterday at the Ministry of Labor, ended without any significant advances which would permit the workers of the private sector to be closer to the salary increase of 30% proposed by the worker's syndicates at this tripartite agency some months ago.
The business sector, represented by the Dominican Management Confederation (COPARDOM), that had attended the prior invitation without a proposal, this time was present at the meeting with a verbal offer in which, besides the discussion of the salary increase, suggested that this scenario also deal with the issue of the classification of the Mipymes, but this was rejected, immediately, by the labor sector.
"We are suggesting at this point that together with the salary increase, Law 488 - 08 should be applied, which refers to Mipymes that have a salary classification different from that which is stipulated, and that until now has not been complied with," said the President of COPARDOM, Joel Santos.
For this reason, the members of the CNS agreed that a new meeting of this organization be called within a month, so that the business sector can bring a written proposal which responds to that which the representatives of the workers have suggested requesting a 30% salary increase.
The President of the Autonomous Classist Union Confederation (CASC) Gabriel Del Rio Doñe, said that the action by the business sector of arriving at the CNS without a concrete proposal for a salary increase, only sought to delay the application of the salary increase demanded by the workers.
"The management sector once a again stretching things out.... Did not bring a concrete proposal, but rather what they want is that they discussed the problem of the Mipymes, as a fundamental point where them to act regarding salaries," indicated Del Rio Doñe, who said he felt that this is not the moment nor the place to discuss the classification of the Mipymes.
Nevertheless, given the fact that the workers consider this to be a strategy of the business sectors, the fact that the salary agreement is delayed, Abreu feels that it will end favoring the employees with a retroactive increase.
"We are suggesting a retroactive salary increase to July 2014, so we are suggesting a retroactive at this level, we consider that the time that we might lose will be recovered with the retroactive," indicated the union representative.
In this sense, Abreu called on the business sector "not to take too much time," and that they should worry about presenting a written proposal with their arguments, as the worker sector has already done.
"These people have a lot of technicians, advisors and people that have studied in many universities around the world. It turns out that they are not capable of responding with numbers written down in order to facilitate the debate on the argument suggested by the workers, but rather they avoid doing this, then because of this the CNS has challenged them, and said that they have to answer the union document," said Abreu.
Although yesterday's meeting went on for more than an hour without touching the part regarding the percentage which the workers'salaries should be increased, the President of the CNS, Felix Hidalgo, said that he was satisfied with the conversation which was carried on between the different members of the Roundtable.
He stressed that at the end of the meeting the businessmen were requested to bring their proposal in writing to the next meeting in order to compare it with that of the union sector and in this manner be able to find a consensus between the management and worker sectors.
The proposal by the unions says that in 2006, 45,241 commercial, manufacturing and agrarian enterprises declared assets amounting to RD$491.4 billion and 60,917 commercial manufacturing and agrarian enterprises declared assets of RD$783.4 billion in 2011, which puts into evidence the growth both of the companies as well as of the business assets.
He explained that while the business assets grow without stopping right before the eyes of the workers, the cost of living of the employees increases and they do not have the capacity to deal with it.
A 30% increase
If the business sector accepts the proposal of a 30% increase for the employees of the private sector, the highest minimum salary in the country will be RD $14,679, an amount that even so will continue to be below the average cost of the family food basket, which according to the Central Bank costs RD$23,042.65.
But according to the inflation statistics provided by the Central Bank, it seems difficult that the workers will obtain an increase of this percentage.
The business sector, represented by the Dominican Management Confederation (COPARDOM), that had attended the prior invitation without a proposal, this time was present at the meeting with a verbal offer in which, besides the discussion of the salary increase, suggested that this scenario also deal with the issue of the classification of the Mipymes, but this was rejected, immediately, by the labor sector.
"We are suggesting at this point that together with the salary increase, Law 488 - 08 should be applied, which refers to Mipymes that have a salary classification different from that which is stipulated, and that until now has not been complied with," said the President of COPARDOM, Joel Santos.
For this reason, the members of the CNS agreed that a new meeting of this organization be called within a month, so that the business sector can bring a written proposal which responds to that which the representatives of the workers have suggested requesting a 30% salary increase.
The President of the Autonomous Classist Union Confederation (CASC) Gabriel Del Rio Doñe, said that the action by the business sector of arriving at the CNS without a concrete proposal for a salary increase, only sought to delay the application of the salary increase demanded by the workers.
"The management sector once a again stretching things out.... Did not bring a concrete proposal, but rather what they want is that they discussed the problem of the Mipymes, as a fundamental point where them to act regarding salaries," indicated Del Rio Doñe, who said he felt that this is not the moment nor the place to discuss the classification of the Mipymes.
Nevertheless, given the fact that the workers consider this to be a strategy of the business sectors, the fact that the salary agreement is delayed, Abreu feels that it will end favoring the employees with a retroactive increase.
"We are suggesting a retroactive salary increase to July 2014, so we are suggesting a retroactive at this level, we consider that the time that we might lose will be recovered with the retroactive," indicated the union representative.
In this sense, Abreu called on the business sector "not to take too much time," and that they should worry about presenting a written proposal with their arguments, as the worker sector has already done.
"These people have a lot of technicians, advisors and people that have studied in many universities around the world. It turns out that they are not capable of responding with numbers written down in order to facilitate the debate on the argument suggested by the workers, but rather they avoid doing this, then because of this the CNS has challenged them, and said that they have to answer the union document," said Abreu.
Although yesterday's meeting went on for more than an hour without touching the part regarding the percentage which the workers'salaries should be increased, the President of the CNS, Felix Hidalgo, said that he was satisfied with the conversation which was carried on between the different members of the Roundtable.
He stressed that at the end of the meeting the businessmen were requested to bring their proposal in writing to the next meeting in order to compare it with that of the union sector and in this manner be able to find a consensus between the management and worker sectors.
The proposal by the unions says that in 2006, 45,241 commercial, manufacturing and agrarian enterprises declared assets amounting to RD$491.4 billion and 60,917 commercial manufacturing and agrarian enterprises declared assets of RD$783.4 billion in 2011, which puts into evidence the growth both of the companies as well as of the business assets.
He explained that while the business assets grow without stopping right before the eyes of the workers, the cost of living of the employees increases and they do not have the capacity to deal with it.
A 30% increase
If the business sector accepts the proposal of a 30% increase for the employees of the private sector, the highest minimum salary in the country will be RD $14,679, an amount that even so will continue to be below the average cost of the family food basket, which according to the Central Bank costs RD$23,042.65.
But according to the inflation statistics provided by the Central Bank, it seems difficult that the workers will obtain an increase of this percentage.
Diario Libre
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