COFE criticized President Lacalle Pou’s speech before Parliament and assured that the government “did put its hand in the pocket of workers, retirees, pensioners and those who have less.”
The union of state officials criticizes that those who concentrate most of the country’s wealth continue to increase their income, their millionaire bank accounts and they “did not put their hands in their pockets, not even at the worst moment of the crisis sanitary”.
On the other hand, COFE denounced the “dismantling of the State, which Lacalle admitted in Parliament when he said that the number of employment ties with the State was reduced by almost 5,000 between 2021 and 2020 (1.59% of the total) and in more than 8,000 compared to 2019 (2.64% of the total)”.
“The dismantling of the State, with the drop in public spending and the reduction of personnel, affects all Uruguayans and especially those who have fewer resources and must satisfy basic needs through public services. These Uruguayans also put their hands in their pockets, ”said the union.
COFE indicated that with Decree 090/020 of March 11, 2020, the Executive Power applied a “strong adjustment of expenses for the central administration and called for and recommended its application in all other entities of the public sector.” At the same time, “it set a ceiling on budget execution for the 2020 financial year, of 85% of the committed credits for the 2019 financial year, corresponding to operating expenses and investments.”
The government also established a strong reduction in personnel, prohibiting the filling of vacant positions generated as of December 31, 2019 and establishing that only one third of those generated as of the year 2020 could be filled.
COFE indicated that “there have been almost no incomes of officials in the central administration, except for teaching staff, as well as technical and specialized health professionals or personnel dependent on the Ministry of the Interior dedicated to security functions.”
“The reduction includes the non-automatic renewal of temporary personal service links and a cap of 60% of the total amount executed in 2019 for the same concept. This decision would imply the expulsion of thousands of workers, who if they maintain their current ties today is because their services are essential to guarantee the quality of public services,” COFE said.
It also ensures that “State workers must work more, to cover the substantial reduction in personnel and in worse operating conditions due to the lack of inputs and investments.”
“The president shows with great satisfaction that the fiscal results improve, at the cost of the reduction of the workers’ wages and of passivities,” said the confederation.
The hand in the pocket of the people
COFE assures that “the government did reach into the pockets of the vast majority by massively lowering wages in both the public and private sectors, taking into account that for two years, consecutively, wages real fell, so there was a loss of purchasing power.
“Only in the public sector, the government cut in 2021 with the 5% salary reduction, was approximately 180 million dollars (estimated from the Results of the central government and public companies to November 2021)”, he points out. .
They denounce that the wage loss of the workers is much greater, because the drop in purchasing power increases cumulatively month by month, until the adjustment takes place in 2023. For COFE, “the government also lowered pensions and pensions, and in two years of management, they were adjusted below inflation”.
“On the other hand, there are a few Uruguayans, the ‘golden mesh’, who continue to swell their pockets and whom the coalition government wants to ‘stimulate’, and they are the ones who concentrate most of the wealth of our country and increase their income, their millionaire bank accounts and to whom they did not put their hands in their pockets, not even at the worst moment of the health crisis”, COFE sentenced.
