15 November 2010 | News | Human rights
The Bare Minimum
Salvadorean Peasants Demand Salary Increase
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The minimum salary of the rural workers of El Salvador is less than three dollars a day. The National Council of Rural Workers (CNTC) of the country, which is a member of La Via Campesina, began a campaign of mobilizations in demand of a salary increase that will guarantee the access to staples.
Their demand is clear: No rural worker can live on the current salary and they are condemned to live in extreme poverty with their families.
The demand for higher salaries directly addresses Mps. They are convinced that the left wing administration of the Farabundo Marti National Liberation Front should listen more to these demands than the previous right-wing governments.
They are calling for a salary increase for seasonal and permanent workers, and refer to the coffee, sugar cane and cattle sectors.
“The peasant sector needs to be dignified. The minimum wage for the rural workers will be paid by the private corporations, which have been profiting for years. This is not something that will come from the state’s budget”, said the trade union leader in an interview with the radio show La voz de los movimientos.
