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View Full Version : Wage dispute will continue



NewsWhore
07-08-2009, 03:00 PM
The National Union Unity Council (CNUS), true to its word, has announced that it is opposed the tentatively agreed 15% increase in the minimum wage for non-sectored workers who make RD$4,485, RD$5,060 and RD$7,360. The government approved increases for minimum salaries of RD$672.75, RD$759 and RD$1,104 a month with 5 of 7 votes.
Yesterday, the National Salary Committee (CNS) agreed on the controversial wage hike during a meeting at the Ministry of Labor, but Hoy reports that CNUS members walked out of the meeting in protest, before voting had commenced.
Rafael Abreu, representing the CNUS, said that their rejection of the agreement was partly because members of the salary agreement refused to pass the 15% wage increase with the promise of continuing to discuss the other pay scales.
Marisol Vicens, president of Compardom, which represents the business sector, expressed regret at the walkout.
The salary increase will not affect workers in the trade zones, the tourism sector, agriculture or construction. These will negotiate their wage increases, but will use the same negotiation process.
The CNUS has 15 days to dispute the raise, but Abreu announced that the union would "focus its energies on reforming the CNS" instead. The CNS legally can only rule on increases of the minimum wage.
Abreu argues that Labor Minister Max Puig was the mastermind behind the agreement and this was why he wouldn't argue against the resolution.

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