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Social Security
authorities and Union
leaders known as Undeca,
signed and agreement to
stop the Union's strike.
/Social Security courtesy
photo.
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AmCham
rejects the agreement signed
between Social Security
authorities and Union
leaders
By the A.M. Costa Rica staff
The Costa Rican - U.S. Chamber
of Commerce, known as AmCham,
announced the rejection of the
content of the recent agreement,
signed between Social Security
authorities and Union leaders
known as Undeca.
According to AmCham, this
agreement is contrary to the
commitment that President Carlos
Alvarado asked of all Costa
Ricans.
The chamber considers the
agreement to be a signal for
other public institutions to
seek to be excluded from the tax
law, especially as it pertains
to the salaries of public
employees.
"With these actions, we cannot
ask citizens to have confidence
in their authorities," said
Elías Soley, President of
AmCham. "The government must be
consistent with its actions,
respect the sectors and
responsible citizens that accept
tax reform, as well as the
employees and businessmen who
contribute to Social Security
every month. "
According to the chamber, the
agreement signed to stop the
strike sends a bad signal to the
risk rating agencies, the OECD
and multilateral organizations.
AmCham calls on the government
to require the authorities of
public institutions to comply
with the provisions of the Law
on Strengthening Public Finance.
In response to the claims made
by representatives of the
business sector, Víctor
Morales-Mora Minister of the
Presidency said "Agreement with
Social Security does not mean
increases in salaries, new
salary extras, or privileges,"
for public employees.
Regarding the tax reform,
Morales-Mora said that the law
had been applied to Social
Security since December 2018.
According to the minister, there
is a conflict in Social Security
about the way extra payments are
calculated in the salary. The
agreement will be analyzed by a
judge, who will determine how
these additional payments will
be applied.
On August 14th, Social Security
reported that during the 8-day
union strike, 223,762 medical
appointments were scheduled, of
which only 140,890 were
completed.
Concerning to surgeries, 3,341
procedures were scheduled, of
which only 1,677 were performed.
In April, the Court gave Social
Security 6-months to reduce
patient waiting lists in
hospitals.
The Constitutional Court Chamber
ordered Social Security to
design, in a maximum of six
months, an integrated management
system to reduce the
"disproportionate and
unreasonable deadlines that the
patient should expect to receive
care in hospitals," said the
ruling.
The problem is that it
represents a systematic and
repeated violation of the right
to health, said the Court.
The Constitutional Court
concluded that the problem in
terms of excessive waiting lists
is a constant in Social
Security. "These actions in the
provision of public service
violate the right to health, as
a fundamental right and violate
the constitutional principles of
public service," said the
resolution statement.
Social Security must define
reasonable waiting times for
treatments, as well as objective
criteria to specify the location
of a patient on waiting lists.
To follow up on compliance with
this ruling, the Constitutional
Chamber set a public hearing for
November 14th, in the Supreme
Court of Justice. On that day,
the authorities of Social
Security must present the
advances and actions developed.
--------------------------
Do you think healthcare workers
were right to strike over the
current issues? We
would like to know your thoughts
on this story. Send your
comments to news@amcostarica.com
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