Cut of public servants began on occasional contracts

Ecuadornews:

The Government started this month, March 2019, the process of disengagement of public servants with occasional contract. Last week, the Minister of Labor, Andrés Madero, said that the employment relationship under this modality would end according to the date set in the contract.

The art. 58 of the Public Service Law establishes that occasional contracts will be granted in an extraordinary and temporary manner, with a maximum duration of 12 months. Then, these contracts should not swell the state payroll, he said.

The National Trade Union Organization of Workers of the Ministry of Health (Osuntransa) denounced on Wednesday, March 6, 2019 that between 2 500 and 3 000 workers in the health sector were disengaged since last Friday. In total, they said that about 10 000 officials have left the public sector since last week.

This Journal consulted the Work Portfolio on the subject, but the request was forwarded to the Human Talent Unit of each entity. Until the end of the edition, the Ministries of Health, Education, Public Works and others did not provide official figures.

The public firm Petroecuador announced yesterday that 444 workers will be disengaged to comply with the provision of the Coordinating Company of Public Enterprises (Emco), to reduce 10% of the payroll. He also specified, through a bulletin, that “the alleged reduction of 1,000 people in this company is false and that another 1,000 are missing because of de-linking.” The union of health workers pointed out that the former disengaged workers worked in the administrative and operational area; that is, they were nurses, assistants, stretcher-bearers, cleaning staff and others from various health houses in the country.

For Joaquin Chaluisa, president of Osuntransa, the dismissals have no technical support and questioned that the measure has not discussed with the unions, as happened with the adjustment of the wage bill of public companies. The former workers were notified on Friday afternoon and evening, through internal communication platforms.

One of the concerns is that the dismissals include personnel who were provisionally appointed, hired for more than eight years, and even workers from vulnerable groups. This is despite the fact that the Work Portfolio established an exceptional extension at the beginning of the year for some occasional workers, including pregnant women, people with disabilities, those who are over four years old, among others.

Gabriela Carvajal worked for more than three years as a social worker at Eugenio Espejo Hospital and had a provisional appointment. But that was not a guarantee of stability and last Friday she was disengaged.

The former worker does not know how she will face the expenses of her family, since she is a single mother. Extra health workers arrived to the Government of Guayas with placards. One of them said #RevocatoriaMorenoYa, along with an image accompanied by the phrase “10,000 public servants dismissed at Carnival”.

Mariuxi García was in the sterilization area at the Guayaquil hospital and was the only one in her area who left after having worked for three years. The worker had an occasional contract. On the outskirts of the Governor’s office there were also workers from the Ecuadorian Transit Commission.

Mario Zalamea said that this Saturday he was going to serve four years in the general services area of ​​that entity. “We did everything: electricity, plumbing (…) Sometimes we did not have rest either Saturday or Sunday.”

The governor of Guayas and former Minister of Labor, Raúl Ledesma, received trade unionists to discuss the issue. Regarding the dismissals said that “apparently” Health left 3,000 people, especially in the area of ​​malaria for fumigation. “The occasional contracts are one year (…) those that are extended are not legal,” said Ledesma on this figure that must be reviewed by each ministry to transform them into provisional appointments.

Meanwhile, at the headquarters of the Network of Teachers of zone 8 (Guayaquil, Durán and Samborondón) similar cases of cessation of duties were also exposed. Only 200 people are known in this area.

Agustín Lindao, the head of the group, said that those who left are citizens’ and administrative attention companions of the districts. Governor Ledesma said he requested Labor confirmation of the total number of dismissals. (I)

Source: https://www.elcomercio.com/actualidad/recorte-personal-contratos-ocasionales-ecuador.html