Nicolas Maduro (president of Venezuela) announced an increase of the minimum wage for workers in Venezuela linked to the Petro. In the II Workers’ Congress, Maduro revealed that the new value of the salary would be half a petro, the national cryptocurrency, which is now worth close to $59. This constitutes an increase of almost 1,800% compared to the previous amount of only seven Venezuelan bolívars (VES).
Minimum Wage Increase to Build “Sustainable Recovery”
Nicolas Maduro (President of Venezuela) announced an increase in the minimum monthly wage for Venezuelan workers. Maduro said that this amount will be approximately half of a petro. This is the national cryptocurrency, which is backed by oil and the other natural resources. The statement was made by Maduro in the II Workers’ Congress, where he talked to state workers.
Maduro spoke out on the subject of the salary rise.
Due to its dependence on national income the minimum wage is one of the most devastating and enduring wounds. The plan we have put together, and I am submitting it to your discussion, is to recover the minimum wage from all wage tables as well collective agreements.
According to the official Petro page, the new monthly salary would be around $29.10. Maduro has not yet announced when the increase would take effect. But he stated that some workers have already been earning higher than the new minimum wage. He explained:
The average salary for a street worker, especially in private sectors, is around $100-150. They sell in dollars, receive in dollars, and pay taxes. The tax we are paying is better than ever.
Doubts and the New Petro Push
Maduro isn’t the only one to inform the public of a wage increase linked with the national cryptocurrency. Maduro declared a wage rise in 2018, which brought the minimum monthly income to half a Petro, that is, 1,800 VES. But, the Venezuelan economy was affected by devaluation. The wage kept its value constant in VES and this resulted in the wages being less expensive.
Local media have expressed doubts about the application of the Petro Peg. They are unsure if Venezuela will pay the wages according to the dollar amount of the Petro or just as a temporal unit. There is also the possibility of paying workers directly with petros using resources from national banks, but none of this was specified during Maduro’s speech.
The national government wants to revive the petro drive. This tax, which affects all payments in dollars as well as any crypto currency not issued to the government, will not be applicable for transactions and payments made using the petro. Therefore it is a smart choice in payments. Maduro said:
It will allow us new forms of international financing for the economic and social development of the country (…) to advance on the issue of monetary sovereignty, for financial transactions, to overcome the financial blockade.
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