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Concerning
claims from the business
sector about the privileges
that Social Security employees
receive, president Alvarado
said there are some
regulations being applied in
accordance with the Law on
Strengthening Public
Finance. / Casa
Presidencial courtesy photo.
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President
Alvarado discusses the agreement
between Government and Social
Security Unions
By the A.M. Costa Rica
staff
President Carlos Alvarado
clarifies questions about the
agreement signed last week,
between Social Security
authorities and Union leaders, to
stop the strike.
According to President Alvarado's
statements, the government's
priority was to stop the strike
that affected more than 120,000
patients due to lack of medical
attention. "If this strike had
continued, the figure would have
continued to increase," said the
president.
Concerning claims from the
business sector about the
privileges that Social Security
employees receive, president
Alvarado said there are some
regulations being applied in
accordance with the Law on
Strengthening Public Finance.
According to the government, the
regulations that are applied for
Social Security employees are a
reduction in severance payment
from 20 to 8 years. The extra
annual payments were reduced from
5.3 to 1.9. The exclusive
dedication payment was also
reduced.
Severance payment, annual
payments, and exclusive dedication
payments are part of the extra
salaries that Social Security
employees receive.
According to the government, these
extra wage benefits are the result
of agreements between the Union
and previous governments, to stop
the strikes of 1982, 1985, 1990,
1999, 2004, and 2007.
These salary privileges approved
in the past "are what we are
trying to solve today," said
President Alvarado.
According to the government, the
agreement signed last week was
sent to the court to analyze the
extra payments received by Social
Security employees before December
2018.
The application of these payments
will be analyzed in court, and
both parties, government, and
union agreed to respect the
judge's statement.
The president called on political
parties for the approval of the
bill that seeks to regulate
strikes in the public sector.
On Thursday, as A.M. Costa Rica
previously reported, 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.
According to the chamber, the
agreement signed to stop the
strike sends a bad signal to the
risk rating agencies, Organization
for Economic Co-operation and
Development (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.
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.
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Should the government
create a decree that eliminates
extra payments to Social Security
employees, or should that decision
be made by a judge? We would
like to know your thoughts on this
story. Send your comments to news@amcostarica.com
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