Puerto Rico lawmakers introduce board’s labour reform bill

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – For the first time in Puerto Rico’s history, legislators have introduced a bill created by a federal control board overseeing the island’s finances that aims to impose austerity measures the U.S. territory’s government has rejected.

The bill would reduce vacation and sick leave by half, eliminate a popular Christmas bonus and increase the minimum wage for certain workers if Puerto Rico manages to increase its labour participation rate as it struggles to recover from Hurricane Maria amid an 11-year recession.

Board president Jose Carrion was ordered to appear at a public hearing on May 1. It’s the same day that tens of thousands of Puerto Ricans are expected to go on strike to protest austerity measures the board approved last week in a 6-1 vote.