The Employers’ Confederation of the Dominican Republic (COPARDOM) has indicated that the labor reform proposed by Luis Abinader’s government must be comprehensive and that one of the key issues to address is the modification of severance pay. The organization hopes to reach an agreement on the structure of these benefits.
Laura Peña, president of COPARDOM, explained that “the business sector has never put the elimination of layoffs on the table.” He clarified that these benefits “have their reason for being because it is compensation that assists those whom the company decided to withdraw.” According to Peña, the aim is not to eliminate layoffs, but rather to modify them, since “labor liabilities turn out to be a very high expense for the business community.”
Peña expressed his desire to have already reached an agreement on this issue and trusts that Congress will open a space for dialogue on the modification of severance pay. In the event that the labor code is not approved as proposed, Peña insisted that it is essential to consider the suggestions related to these benefits.
During discussions in the Labor Advisory Council, COPARDOM has presented several alternatives, such as establishing a salary cap and unemployment insurance. Peña indicated that “we as a business sector are not closed to the options that we put on the table,” and that they are willing to consider other proposals that the union sector or the government may propose.
Finally, Grief He stressed that through dialogue an agreement could be reached that benefits the country, allowing companies to offer quality and formal jobs with the appropriate budget, although currently this is difficult “due to the high labor cost.”
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