The non-medical workers of Casa de Galicia unanimously approved the pre-agreement reached in a meeting with the authorities for the distribution of officials to the mutual insurance companies that will absorb the partners of the health provider, he confirmed to The Observer Alexandra Vera, director of the Association of Civil Servants of Casa de Galicia (Afuncag).
The agreement provides that for every 1,000 members transferred, 21 employees are redeployeda number that improves the previous offer of companies of 20 workers hired per thousand partners.
With these proportions, approximately 900 non-medical employees of the 1,281 on the payroll would be redeployed, and 381 would remain in a job bank. Vera clarified that they must recalculate those numbers, because some of the workers on the payroll “resigned” or “retired.”
In the pre-agreement they also achieved that 70% of the officials with a single job are redistributed, and they extended the trial period in the mutual companies for a month, added the unionist.
Vera explained that now Afuncag hopes to contact the authorities to set the date and time of a new meeting in which they will sign the agreement, with less than two days to go until the definitive closing of Casa de Galicia, on April 1st. In the assembly “some details” of the pre-agreement were changed, but the directive did not specify which ones.
The meeting
The preliminary agreement was reached after several hours of meeting of the Salary Council in the Ministry of Labor. The undersecretary of Health, José Luis Satdjian, the undersecretary of Labor, Mario Arizti, the director of Labor, Federico Daverede, members of the Uruguayan Federation of Health (FUS), led by Soraya Larrosa, representatives of Afuncag, and representatives of the mutualists that will be distributed among the members and officials of Casa de Galicia.
According to Vera, something close to “a midpoint” was reached between the intention of the companies and the intention of non-medical officials.
Vera declared that it was the “insistence” of the workers that managed to reach a better redistribution offer, because the companies “did not want to give in” and the government “did not show much effort either.”
the FUS
Vera indicated that the proportion is “a little better” than the initial distribution plan that was proposed by the Executive Power and accepted by the previous directorate of Casa de Galicia, in agreement with the FUS.
That plan proposed that 840 workers are redistributed to other health institutions and 460 remain in special unemployment insurance. However, its approval in the assembly was reviewed by the workers who are members of Afuncag, who reversed the decision and led to the departure of the previous board of directors.
The new integration of Afuncag was critical of the actions of FUS in the negotiation of the conflict, and they even asked that it withdraw from the negotiations with the Executive Power and the companies. “They are the ones who represent us,” said Vera, however.
At Tuesday’s meeting, both parties again had differences: at one point the FUS representatives asked the representatives of Casa de Galicia to withdraw from the meeting to negotiate “hand in hand” with the Executive Branch, Vera said.
Afuncag rejected the idea because they understood that, as representatives of the workers directly affected, they should be present throughout the negotiations. After a fourth intermission the situation was resolved, and Afuncag continued at the Salary Council table.
Doctors: define this Thursday
The medical officials of Casa de Galicia will meet this Thursday with the government authorities and the mutualists to define the distribution of the workers in their field, sources from the Uruguayan Medical Union (SMU) informed The Observer.
Until now, doctors have met formally, through the Salary Council, twice, two weeks ago. In the first instance, the mutualists offered to hire 200 of the 700 workers in this area, and only during polyclinic hours, which would be equivalent to an average of 5 workers for every 1,000 members distributed. In the second instance this proposal was rejected.
After that, the officials and the SMU held “several informal meetings”, detailed from the SMU, to achieve possible proposals that bring the intentions of the mutualists closer to that of the officials, who intended to maintain all the jobs. .
One day before the meeting with the authorities, and less than 48 hours before Casa de Galicia closes, the doctors analyze the proposals that have been reached so far in the negotiation process, but they do not want to give possible conclusions without going through the Council Salaries, indicated from the doctors’ union.
