Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro announced a 50% minimum wage hike that takes effect on Sept. 1, amid triple-digit inflation that has severely weakened spending power in the crisis-stricken OPEC nation, Reuters reported. Monthly minimum wage will rise to 22,577 bolivars, around $35 at the weaker of two official exchange rates but about $23 at the black market rate. Including meal tickets, it will rise to 65,056 bolivars. “This is the third (minimum wage) hike this year,” Maduro said during a televised broadcast. Critics say repeated salary increases are woefully insufficient to offset inflation, which reached 181% in 2015 according to official figures.
