The national government updated the minimum wage and redefined the scope of scholarships, pensions, and social programs.

The national government officially announced a new update to the Minimum Living Wage (SMVM), which will rise to $317,800 pesos starting July 1. The measure, published this Wednesday in Resolution 5/2025 of the Official Gazette, is part of a scheme of staggered increases that will continue until August. In the absence of consensus within the Salary Council, the Executive branch decided to advance the increase by decree.

This new value redefines the legal minimum for registered workers and automatically adjusts the reference parameters for multiple social benefits, including unemployment benefits, Progresar scholarships, and the 82% mobile rate received by retirees without a moratorium. It also impacts collective bargaining agreements for unions with low coverage, unregistered workers, and limits on access to social programs.

The increase is part of a progressive schedule that was implemented in April and will continue through August. The monthly and hourly rates are as follows:

• April: $302,600 / $1,513
• May: $308,200 / $1,541
• June: $313,400 / $1,567
• July: $317,800 / $1,589
• August: $322,000 / $1,610

This scheme seeks to provide predictability to the nominal wage floor, although specialists warned that the purchasing power of the SMVM (Minimum Minimum Wage) continues to deteriorate compared to the real cost of living. According to INDEC ( National Institute of Statistics and Census), a typical family needed more than $850,000 in May to avoid falling below the poverty line, leaving the minimum wage covering just 37% of that basket.

With this new value, pensions without a moratorium that apply the 82% mobile rate will not receive additional increases, since the system's minimum pension remains below the SMVM (Minimum Minimum Wage) . Retirement organizations denounced that the mechanism loses its meaning in low-income situations and pointed out that "the adjustment is not even enough to cover the basics."

In parallel, unemployment benefits—calculated based on the minimum wage—will also be adjusted starting in July. The benefit is capped at between 50% and 100% of the minimum wage, so the new amounts will be adjusted automatically.

Likewise, access to the Progresar scholarships will be limited to those with a family income less than three times the minimum wage. The new value redefines the potentially eligible population, requiring the review and updating of databases and ongoing applications.

The new salary floor also impacts family allowances, employment plans, and social subsidies, which set limits based on the minimum wage. Therefore, social organizations warned that the update, although nominally positive, could leave current beneficiaries out if the eligibility criteria are not adjusted.

Unions warned that the SMVM cannot remain below the real value of the basic food basket. The Autonomous Workers' Commission (CTA Autónoma) stated that it "does not even cover the bare minimum" and called for an emergency adjustment. In sectors with a low level of formalization or outside collective bargaining agreements, such as domestic workers or rural workers, the situation is even more critical.

" Many workers continue to earn below the minimum wage and without collective bargaining to support them. This update does not reverse structural precariousness ," stated the Front for the Fight for Decent Work.

Despite the increase, the gap with the cost of living persists and widens. With the new value of $317,800, the SMVM's coverage of basic expenses once again reaches a negative record. For the unions, this indicator will continue to be a key argument in the ongoing collective bargaining negotiations, while for the government, it represents an instrument of fiscal containment in line with its adjustment strategy.

The roadmap has already been outlined: the increase will be completed in August with a new floor of $322,000. Meanwhile, the underlying discussion remains open: how much is the minimum wage worth in Argentina today?