SANTO DOMINGO.-While the union sector hopes that the labour reform will be limited to the aspects agreed upon at the negotiating table, among the employers there remains hope that the initiative can be expanded.
“The truth is that I personally still have hope that some kind of progress can be made in some discussions that are still without consensus.
Otherwise, what will have been the point of all the years of dialogue, precisely to achieve a reform that would allow or bring about what we all hope for: a reduction in informal employment.
“We have a labour market that is not responding to the demands of workers and vice versa,” said Cirse Almánzar, former vice president of AIRD, yesterday.
He pointed out that all countries in the last decade have been involved in labor reform, because the times have demanded it, “but a true labor reform.”
Almánzar said that labor reform should not be seen as a list to be completed and then abandoned, but that the issue should be addressed in its entirety.
“I hope that this can be debated, because it is not only affecting the Dominican labor market, but also the growth of some sectors of the economy and, most importantly, it is affecting public finances, it is also affecting social security, because we have to look at everything from a comprehensive perspective.”
He stressed that the aim of the unemployment issue is to adapt the labour market to current conditions and that his proposals would be applied in the future, not retroactively because they are unconstitutional.
Quote progress
On the opposite side of the debate, Rafael Pepe Abreu, from the National Confederation of Trade Union Unity, criticized the positions of the business sector, stating that many of the changes that will be submitted in the new proposal were requested by employers.
Among them, he mentioned a change in the procedural aspect of the application of some regulations, such as the payment of double to an insurance company by employers when they are subjected to labor lawsuits.
“We overturned that at the request of the company and decided that it should not be double, but rather the amount stipulated in the sentence.”
The number of days in case of summons was also changed, which was originally three and could include weekends, which were used to carry out fraudulent seizures. With the proposal submitted, it will be eight working days.
He explained that the reform also contemplates the creation of the figure of a conciliatory judge, which, he says, would help the parties in conflict before reaching trial, which in turn means high expenses in lawyers’ fees and the possibility of losing everything.
Pepe Abreu also said that facilities are established so that employers and employees can directly agree on working hours.
He said that although these improvements benefit the workers, they were also complaints from the business sector and he questioned them for only criticizing the aspects that were not agreed upon.
Limited works
He said that it was agreed to submit to Congress only what had been agreed between the parties, without including the severance pay regime, and that they hope that the legislators will abide by what was agreed at the tripartite table made up of the Government, businessmen and the union sector.
Dismissal defense
In defense of the severance pay, Abreu said that it is a temporary, non-acquired right of workers, explaining that it only applies in those cases in which the worker is dismissed from his job.
“The concept of severance pay is a demand closely linked to the precariousness of countries. In countries such as Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark, New Zealand, Iceland, Ireland, this concept does not exist. Severance pay is based on a criterion called social protection. It involves guaranteeing people protection that goes from the cradle to the grave.”
Pepe Abreu said that the only contradictory article between employers and the union sector was the severance pay.
Paternity leave
Circus Almánzar.
Regarding criticism from some sectors against the proposal for paternity leave and which they consider insignificant, Abreu said that it was a generational advance and that it was an issue with strong cultural ties.
I think that a four-day paternity leave, even if it is modest, is at least a start to dismantle the mentality that prevails in many sectors of society and among workers.”
Unemployment insurance
— Coincidences
Both Cirse Almánzar and Pepe Abreu agreed that unemployment insurance was more complex than severance pay. Both expressed their opinion on the radio program Esto No tiene Nombre.
Uncontrolled aspects of teleworking
Condition. Although legislation is being sought to include a regulation on teleworking in the legal system, the former vice president of the Association of Industries of the Dominican Republic, Circe Almánzar, stated that there would be aspects that could not be controlled, which demonstrates the need for a labor reform that is thought out and adapted to current times and that is more inclusive.
“For example, a call center in the Dominican Republic. That is a job that you can regulate.
Now, when you are working with Microsoft or Google, from the country with a company based in Bangladesh, under what regulation do you protect yourself? Almánzar asked.
He also said that there are global challenges in taxation and that the issue is not just a labor issue.
