Venezuelan workers who earned a pittance are now earning a
slightly larger pittance, thanks to a big increase in the minimum wage. What
they may not have are jobs. Starting this week, 7 million employees are
guaranteed 1,800 bolivars a month -- worth about $20 at the black-market rate.
President Nicolas Maduro intended the mandate as political boost, but it’s
having the opposite effect as companies, already hit by Venezuela’s epic
economic contraction, tell workers they can’t afford to keep them. While there
have been many similar moves in the past, never has one been so disruptive,
arriving amid hyperinflation, depression and devaluation. Some employers are
restructuring costs, rejiggering pay scales and negotiating settlements with workers.
Others are simply dismissing people. Much of the action happens secretively as
companies try to avoid punishment by the government, which has been jailing
those it believes are flouting the rules More…
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