Board orders pension cuts, studies Puerto Rico wage increase
A federal control board overseeing the finances of Puerto Rico’s government demanded cuts to the island’s shaky public pension system Wednesday and said it will consider raising the minimum wage only if certain conditions are met.
The demands were outlined in various letters to Gov. Ricardo Rossello, who has repeatedly rejected imposing a 10 percent cut to pensions of more than $1,000 a month and is seeking to increase the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $8.25 by 2021.
The board also stated that mandatory vacation and sick leave should be immediately reduced to 14 days a year as opposed to Rossello’s proposed seven days a year. It said a Christmas bonus should be made voluntary by 2019 as part of a proposed labor reform that Puerto Ricans have widely rejected.
Read More: NZ Herald
