Venezuela's Rodriguez says monthly minimum income will rise to $240

By Deisy Buitrago and Mayela Armas

CARACAS, ‌April 30 (Reuters) - Venezuela’s ​acting ​president Delcy Rodriguez said on Thursday the monthly minimum income would rise to $240, while pensions would increase to $70, amid protests by some employees demanding higher salaries to ‌grapple with triple-digit inflation.

The monthly minimum wage has been equivalent to just a ⁠few cents in dollar terms, though workers receive bonuses that the government has previously said took incomes up to $190 ‌per month.

“When I see workers protesting, ‌I think, 'They're right.' We want better wages for workers. We want to fully restore what wages are meant to represent. Of course. This is then the first step toward being able ​to guarantee the purchasing power of workers across the country,” Rodriguez said at a march calling for an end to U.S. sanctions, which she has said will help increase foreign investment ⁠and boost the economy.

Rodriguez did not say how much of the new $240 would come from a minimum salary and how much from bonuses.

“I also ​want to report that our elderly — our grandfathers and grandmothers, those who have been hit the hardest — will receive a pension equivalent to $70, which ​represents a 40% increase. It is not enough. It ‌is not enough," Rodriguez said, adding that other measures for the elderly would be examined.

The last increase in base salary and pay scale for public ⁠sector workers was in March 2022. Meanwhile, depreciation of the local bolivar currency has increased the cost of bonuses to about $400 million in April, up from around $250 million in December, according to economist firms in Caracas.

After ⁠the capture of President Nicolas Maduro and his wife by U.S. forces in January, supporters of the ruling ​party in several states said some bonuses were no longer being paid, helping fuel discontent and even defections from the socialist party.

Annual inflation stood at 649% in March, according to central bank data.

Protests by workers in sectors ‌including education, healthcare and public services have become more frequent since Maduro's capture, as oil deals with the United States bring hundreds of millions into ‌government coffers.

A planned union march in Caracas to demand better salaries was prevented from mobilizing on Thursday ⁠by police presence and crowds participating in ‌the government-led demonstration.

The public sector ​employs more than 3 million people, while its pensioners number around 5 million, according to government figures.

(Reporting by Deisy Buitrago and Mayela Armas, Writing by Julia ‌Symmes Cobb)

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