Wage drops and pension losses foreshadowed today a 2022 of economic restrictions in Uruguay, according to data provided by representatives of the Social Security Bank (PBS for its acronym in Spanish).

The year before closed as the second consecutive year of the current right-wing coalition government, in which the adjustment of the salary of the workers was lower than inflation, which also means that retired people will receive a pension below the level of consumer prices.

Ramón Ruiz, director of the PBS for the union movement pointed out that the loss of purchasing power it does not occur spontaneously; it is the result of the application of an economic policy that includes wage restraints.

He mentioned the Executive Power, the president of the Office of Planning and Budget, Isaac Alfie, the Cabinet and the president of the country as responsables of that meassure.

The Institute Cuesta Duarte of economic studies, which is part of the Pit-Cnt union center, pointed out that in the Wage Councils the government voted 17 times in favor of the employers and 4 times in favor of the workers, when it had to give a judgement due to differences between the parties about the future adjustment of salaries.

On the other hand, the representative of retirees and pensioners at the BPS, Sixto Amaro, said that “salaries should go up, because the gross domestic product increased, more is exported, there is more production, and the income of the country’s entire productive sector grew”.

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