The president of the National Council of Private Enterprise (Conep), Celso Juan Marranzini, stressed this Tuesday that the labor reform must contemplate sustainable solutions that promote formality and balance workloads for all business sectors, including small and medium-sized businesses.
When asked: Modify layoff would reduce the informality?, the senior executive of the Conep answered:
“Definitely, but towards the future, for the future, because remember that we have insisted that the acquired rights are maintained. It means that it is for the future and it is not eliminating it (unemployment). “It is looking for some alternative so that it has a limit or so that it is not infinite.”.
He specified that heto informality exceeds the formality in the country. More than 54% of workers do not have social security coverage.
“This reform can change that. It is not about eliminating rightsbut to look for mechanisms to make them sustainable,” Marranzini explained.
He added that a formal salary It represents an additional cost for companies of between 40% to 60% more for each peso paid to the worker, a burden that he considered disproportionate and invisible for the majority of citizens.
“A company with three employees also needs conditions to keep operating. We have proposed alternatives to layoffs, not their elimination. What we want is to balance the loads and make it sustainable the increase in wages which has already been 60% in the last four years,” he stated.
Both business leaders agreed that the reform should focus on the futurerespecting acquired rights and promoting a more favorable environment for formal employment, investment and sustained economic growth.
The Minister of Labor, Eddy Olivaresstated this Tuesday that the reform of the Labor Codecurrently in the hands of the National Congress, represents a momentous step towards the modernization of the labor legal framework in the Dominican Republic.
“All legislators are convinced and have the will that next week the reform of the Labor Code“, concluded Olivares.
He said that they have the final decision the legislators.
“They don’t even have the decision businessmen Neither the workers nor we, the central government, have it. The first power of the State has it: the Legislative Power,” said Olivares.
Although one of the most sensitive points remains layoffthe minister recalled that this aspect was not agreed upon in the Tripartite Committee and, therefore, does not have the support of the Government. However, he recognized that the business community exercised its right by formally presenting a proposal to Congress.
“The theme of layoff It was not consensual, but now it is the legislator who will decide. “It has been an enriching debate and we trust that the result will be beneficial for the country,” he said.
Vision of the business community
During the XXIII Congress on Prevention of Occupational Risksthe president of the Employers’ Confederation of the Dominican Republic (Copardom), Laura Peña Izquierdo, highlighted that the reform must directly contribute to generating formal jobs, improving productivity and adjusting the legal framework to the economic changes since 1992.
“Modify the Code It must serve to create more jobs and contribute to the country’s productivity. Since 2001, labor costs have been added that did not exist before. This is an opportunity for modernization to face those challenges,” he declared.
A key moment for the country
Minister Olivares reiterated that all political actors are committed to this transformation. Both the president of the Senate, Ricardo de los Santos, and the president of the Chamber of DeputiesAlfredo Pacheco, and the different legislative groups, have expressed their willingness to approve the reform in the coming days.
“The Code of 1992 no longer responds to the current labor market. It is time to adapt to the changes and move towards a more fair, modern and functional system,” he concluded.
