Brazil may raise the minimum wage

Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has set up a working group to propose a minimum wage policy that will introduce a permanent formula for calculating the national minimum wage.

In a meeting with 500 trade union activists at Palazzo Planalto, Lula said that the minimum wage should rise in line with economic growth, equivalent to an increase in the gross domestic product (GDP - the sum of the goods and services produced in a country).

The group was created by an order signed the day before by the president and will have 90 days to complete its work. The group includes representatives of the Ministries of Labour and Employment, Finance, Planning and Budget, Social Security, Development, Industry and Trade, as well as the General Secretariat. According to Lula, the views of the central trade union organisations will also be heard when drafting the proposal.

Currently, the minimum wage is R$1302 (US$251), according to an interim measure adopted in mid-December by the previous government.

According to the Department of Statistics and Socio-Economic Research (Dieese), in December 2022 the minimum wage needed to meet the basic needs (food, shelter, clothing, education, hygiene, transport, leisure and social security) of a family of four should be R$6647.63 (US$1281.59), as reported by Rede TV!, a partner of TV BRICS.

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