In October 2024, the minimum, vital and mobile wage (SMVM) in Argentina is $271,571.22 for those who work full time. If we take the average salary in Argentina it is $466,667 per month.
However, the data on how much a worker needs, with a family burden, is very far from that income. According to the Internal Board of ATE-Indec, “a worker needed, in October 2024, $1,547,169 to satisfy the minimum needs of a household made up of a couple over 30 years of age with two children of school age. This value is made up of $534,478.- necessary to acquire a Minimum Food Basket and $ 1,012,691.- to access other basic goods and services.”
The number is higher than the “basic basket” and “family basket” calculations that the organization publishes month after month. It uses the so-called “Minimum Consumption Baskets”, which emerged as an innovative methodological proposal in the INDEC, taking into account the essential needs of any family member, but have not yet been applied in official measurements.
That number is used by unions such as Oil and other unions to discuss their parity, although as we see the vast majority of the working class is far from those salaries.
The INDEC workers, highly trained specialists in national statistics, also refute the government’s euphoria over the reduction in inflation. “The number provided by the CPI is due to the precipitous drop in consumption, especially due to the loss of purchasing power of workers and retirees.” They also propose an idea to alleviate this situation. “This drop in consumption must be considered by those who lead, today, the unions and the labor confederations, since we are approaching December, a month in which the popular sectors historically mobilize and whom the 3 confederations should accompany.”
Without a doubt, we must demand from the power plants a plan to combat this looting of salaries and popular pockets, starting with assemblies in the workplace and the call for unitary and immediate forceful measures.
Source: www.laizquierdadiario.com
