Honduras Announces New Minimum Wage - Nine Percent

UNCLAS TEGUCIGALPA 000811

SIPDIS

STATE FOR DRL/IL, EB/TPP, WHA/PPC, AND WHA/CEN
STATE PASS USTR FOR WCLATANOFF
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CEN
DOL FOR ILAB

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB ECON ETRD PHUM PGOV HO
SUBJECT: Honduras Announces New Minimum Wage - Nine Percent
Raise for Most Workers

Ref: Tegucigalpa 560


1. After long and contentious negotiations, on April 1, the
Government, the private employers' association (COHEP),and
the three labor confederations announced they had agreed upon
a raise in the minimum wage effective immediately. Unlike
past years when the raise was backdated to January, this
year's raise is not retroactive. The revised daily minimum
wage scale is broken down by sector and by size of business:
small (1-15 workers) and large (16 or more workers). The
scale ranges from 54.7 lempiras (USD 3.04) per day for workers
in small agriculture to 89.7 lempiras (USD 4.99) per day for
workers in financial/insurance companies and workers in export-
oriented businesses (including maquilas and certain commercial
agriculture such as tobacco, coffee, bananas, and seafood).
Workers in such areas as construction, services, mining,
transportation, communication, etc. have minimum wages in
between these two rates.


2. The minimum wage scale in 2003 ranged from 48.85 lempiras
to 82.3 lempiras per day. This year's raise was approximately
12 percent for workers in small agriculture, but approximately
nine percent for most other workers. Inflation was
approximately 7.7 percent in 2003 according to the Central
Bank.

Palmer