20% increase to the minimum wage in the construction sector: a key boost for the Dominican workforce
The Dominican Government, in conjunction with representatives of employers and workers, has made official a 20% salary increase for the construction sector and its related areas. This measure, ratified by the National Salary Committee (CNS) through Resolution No. CNS-04-2026, seeks to strengthen the purchasing power of employees and encourage greater integration of the local workforce in this strategic industry.
The Minister of Labor, Eddy Olivares, highlighted that this wage policy not only responds to an improvement in living conditions, but also functions as a necessary incentive to attract more Dominicans to work that is fundamental for the country’s economic development.
Our purpose is for more and more Dominicans to join the construction workforce. We want this minimum wage increase to serve that goal.
Eddy Olivares, Minister of Labor
New salary scales
With the application of this 20% adjustment, the daily rates have been readjusted for the various categories of the sector:
- Unskilled workers: From RD$980.59 to RD$1,176.70.
- Skilled workers: From RD$1,072.85 to RD$1,287.42.
- Helpers: From RD$1,260.34 to RD$1,512.40.
- Third-class operators: From RD$1,636.80 to RD$1,964.16.
- Second-class operators: From RD$1,867.44 to RD$2,240.93.
- First-class operators: From RD$2,334.67 to RD$2,801.60.
- Master builders: From RD$2,941.78 to RD$3,530.13.
The voice of the workers: between salary and the need for retirement
While the agreement was received with optimism by the unions, the labor sector emphasizes that the salary increase is only part of the solution. Pedro Julio Alcántara, general secretary of the National Federation of Construction Workers, stressed that the demanding physical conditions of the trade require additional measures.
Salaries do not solve everything we aspire to. What solves it for us are dignified retirements, so that when we finish our workforce participation we can have peace of mind with our family and not be a burden to our children.
Pedro Julio Alcántara (Pepén)
Alcántara called on the business sector for this salary effort to be accompanied by pension plans that guarantee a dignified retirement for those who have dedicated their lives to building the national infrastructure. The resolution, which formalizes these changes, is the result of an extended dialogue process between May and June 2026.
