The Minister of Labor and Social Security, Pablo Mieres, gave an account of the work that the government did in terms of work, salary, and what is to come, among other things, the definitive recovery of what was lost in the Covid-19 pandemic. 19.
Regarding what has been done, Mieres assured that, in terms of employment, in the second half of last year there was a “marked recovery process”, which allowed a return to a situation “similar or better” than that existing in previous times. to the pandemic. He said that the employment rate registered at the beginning of this year indicates that the recovery of the jobs lost during 2020 was achieved and that it is estimated that around 40,000 jobs could be created during this year under of “economic growth expectations”. This new recovery, according to the minister, will allow not only to recover what was lost from the pandemic, but also the 50,000 jobs that had been lost in the last period of the previous government. “The unemployment rate has stood since the end of last year and the first quarter of this year at an average of 7.5%. This figure is the lowest since 2017, in such a way that the unemployment figure is today in better figures than in the years before the pandemic, it must be remembered that the average unemployment rate in 2019 was 8.9 % and in February 2020 climbed to 10.5%. The total number of workers in unemployment insurance after the enormous impact caused by the pandemic has definitively recovered, ”he said.
“Work “recovered” to pre-pandemic levels sooner than forecast”
Then he elaborated: “On the other hand, in these years of government, the number of informal workers was reduced. In 2019 we had 25% informal workers, however, this number has dropped to 22% today. It indicates that given that the number of active workers has recovered, formality has gained ground in our labor reality, which means that a greater proportion of workers has accessed the corresponding protections, rights and benefits that formality includes, ”he added. the. “Very likely this is due to the importance that the protection mechanisms that were deployed during the pandemic had for formal workers, which led to a greater appreciation of labor formality and along this path we intend to continue advancing in the coming times,” he said. the.
In summary, the Secretary of State affirmed that work “recovered” to pre-pandemic levels sooner than was forecast and that in comparative terms at the international level at the end of 2021 our country exhibited higher levels of employment recovery than most. from Latin American countries and even from the United States, Canada and several European countries. “In other words, the rate of employment and unemployment activity in Uruguay had recovered to a greater degree than these countries in the region and the developed world. Does it mean that we are satisfied? In no way, we are happy with the speed with which employment has recovered, but we are not satisfied because the reality prior to the pandemic was bad, the trend of deteriorating employment had been installed in our country from 2016 onwards and , therefore, the numbers for 2019 were unsatisfactory,” he said.
“We have challenges, we have to work on reducing inequities in access to work, both in terms of gender and age, education, geographic region and socioeconomic level, as well as due to disability situations. In this sense, the employment promotion law for vulnerable sectors has been in force since the end of last year, approved unanimously in parliament and promoting hiring, through the incentive of a subsidy to those employers who hire young people, women, people older than 45 years and people with disabilities. We are working energetically so that this instrument of labor inclusion is effectively used more, allowing more vulnerable workers to access employment”, he added.
“We have had to make decisions regarding salary and in this sense our commitment was expressed that when the economy resumed its growth, which is happening, the purchasing power of salary would be recovered”
For Mieres, Uruguay “must work with total conviction” to recover lost wages, but he clarified that it is necessary to “look for things” in their global context because the effects suffered by the country “are basically international-scale effects” first due to the coronavirus pandemic and then by the war in Europe.
At the same time, he added: “We have had to make decisions related to salary and in this sense our commitment was expressed that when the economy resumed its growth, which is happening, the purchasing power of salary would be recovered during this period of government. That is why, in the case of private workers, for the ninth round of salary councils, the inclusion of a recovery component was established, which guarantees that at the end of the period of that round, part of the salary has been recovered. lost,” he said.
Then he added: “Similarly, in the budget regulations, a process of recovery of the salaries of public officials was committed, which began on January 1 of this year when there was an increase that also includes a recovery component. An inflationary process began with an impact on energy and food. This process is unprecedented and affects all the economies of the planet. It is enough to look at what is happening in the United States, Europe and the rest of Latin America. All inflation data speak of record growth and inflation. That is why we are not an island and we are living the impact”, he added.
“We ratify our commitment to promote a process of dialogue with workers and employers with the same equanimity and balance with which we have acted so far”
The measures announced by the government at the level of public wage increases, the call to the Superior Tripartite Council to convene 88 tables from the most affected private sectors and the increases in pensions are “unequivocal expressions” of the government’s ratification with the recovery of the purchasing power of wages, according to Mieres.
Later he expressed: “Starting in July we will have the challenge of working on specific agreements for those workers and employers of the most affected, that is, those belonging to tourism, culture, and sports to begin to travel the same path of labor recovery. . It should be noted that in all this time, the MTSS has maintained a constant and unwavering attitude of dialogue and a willingness to intensively accompany the search for agreements in the face of the different conflicts that arise in a democratic and plural society”, he stated.
At the same time, he added: “We ratify our commitment to promote a dialogue process with workers and employers with the same equanimity and balance with which we have acted until now to incorporate some modifications in the collective bargaining processes that strengthen and modernize these instances. We express the need to carry out a program to modernize labor relations”, he advanced. With regard to employment and with a view to the future, Mieres announced that they are working on the creation of a labor market information system as a result of an agreement by the International Labor Organization to improve the information available on labor market trends. through the articulation between all State institutions and organized civil society to have a “more complete diagnosis”, as well as to detect future trends in work.
“We hope that in times to come we can continue to advance towards a reality of greater well-being and protection of the rights of all Uruguayan workers”
Finally he added: “This will allow the improvement of job training policies, aimed both at unemployed workers and for those who are looking for other job opportunities. The world of work changes rapidly and generates innovations in labor relations, which is why Parliament, for example, has legislated on the phenomenon of teleworking, the regulation of which we have just approved, and we believe that it will be very useful to regulate this type of labor relations”, pointed.
He also announced that they are working on the formulation of a regulation that regulates the labor relations of workers by applications and pointed out that, in the coming weeks, prior to the dialogue with the social actors, they will present a bill that will seek to “guarantee labor protections for this growing group of workers who carry out their activity in a new and growing way in the world”. “In short, we have lived two years with absolutely exceptional contingencies. However, despite all these difficulties, this government has firmly and consistently maintained its commitment to dialogue with workers and employers, promoting agreements, collective bargaining and putting its greatest energy into responding to the difficulties encountered in the labor market. of workers and companies,” he said.
Finally, he asserted: “We hope that in times to come we can continue to advance towards a reality of greater well-being and protection of the rights of all Uruguayan workers. You can also be sure that we will continue to generate ideas and measures to respond to the realities of all workers and employers in our country, in particular the most vulnerable,” said Minister of Labor and Social Security Pablo Mieres.
