“With what face did you dare to veto that measure that represented hope for thousands”
By John McPhaul
jpmcphaul@gmail.com
Governor Pedro Pierluisi Urrutia vetoed the legislative measure that sought to establish a new staggered base minimum wage of $10.50 an hour for public employees.
The representative by accumulation for the Popular Democratic Party (PPD), Héctor Ferrer Santiago, Monday blasted the governor called on Resident CommissionerJennifer González Colón, to express herself on the matter.
“Last year we achieved the increase in the private sector, but today the governor denies that opportunity to public employees. Where is the salary justice for public employees that filled his mouth as a candidate? Today, Pierluisi, Jennifer and the NPP turn their backs on nearly tens of thousands of public servants who find themselves with the government minimum wage,” said the legislator in written statements.
The representative emphasized “how unsustainable these thousands of Puerto Ricans are made to live for those who have not received an increase in the minimum wage, but have had an increase in the cost of living. The cost of living continues to rise due to inflation, the war, the pandemic, and to this is added the increases by the NPP government itself in services such as water, electricity, and tolls,” said Ferrer Santiago.
The bill, authored by Sen. Juan Zaragoza, had passed both the and Senate. It established an increase in the minimum wage for public employees to $8.50 an hour; subsequently for July 1, 2023 9.50 dollars and for July 1, 2024 it will be 10.50 dollars.
“Governor, with what face did you dare to veto that measure that represented hope for thousands of Puerto Rican families? Commissioner, the public servant’s pocket can’t take it anymore, don’t continue to be an accomplice with your silence”, concluded Ferrer Santiago.