Several unions and nonprofit organizations demanded that Puerto Rico Governor Jenniffer González name the people to fill vacant seats on the Minimum Wage Evaluation Commission, after the resignation of an employer representative left the body without a quorum. Law 47-2021 requires the Commission to have seven members, with at least five needed for a quorum.
Our work is precarious and unstable even though we are a key piece of the tourism industry.
It currently has four. José Rodríguez, spokesperson for the Movimiento Solidario Sindical, said employers are trying to obstruct the Commission’s work after failing to get the Legislature to repeal Law 47-2021. He said the resignation of Jaime Núñez, the employer-sector representative, halted the evaluation of wages for four categories of workers, including tipped workers and agricultural workers, whose minimum wages he said are still below $10.50.
Rodríguez also questioned the lack of commitment by the government and employers, and said low wages and rising living costs reduce spending capacity and, in turn, the economy. The organizations sent a letter to the governor requesting that the vacancies be filled. Waitress Karla Sanabria said, "Our work is precarious and unstable even though we are a key piece of the tourism industry."
Iyari Ríos González, an economist and the labor-sector representative on the Commission, asked the governor to name the three missing members. She said the Commission had already received the study commissioned from the consulting firm Abexus Analytics and was evaluating possible minimum wage adjustments for various categories of employees when the resignation occurred.