THE HOMELAND | MANIZALES
After almost a week, the Ministry of Labor could not stop the unemployment his officialsthat work ceased since last Friday throughout the country.
Approval of payment of a bonus of the 50% of March salary this year, announced on Tuesday by the Governmentwas not enough to calm the discomfort of the entity’s workers.
Even though the minister from work, Glory Agnes Ramirezcelebrated the budget endorsement of the Ministry of Tax authorities to pay employees’ bonuses and said that it was a sign of “political will of the Government”, the workers continue the strike, since they do not agree with the terms of this payment and are still waiting for solutions to other requests.
This is what the headquarters of the Ministry of Labor in Manizales looks like this Thursday.
Differences
The discomfort with the payment arises because it was only approved for the 2024. The unions want it to be maintained every year, as agreed in the agreement union 2023-2025.
Albert Villegas Villegas, labor and social security inspector of the Ministry of Labor (Territorial Caldas), assured: “We do not reject the bonus, but We are bothered by the terms of the draft decree through which said conventional benefit is intended to be recognized. The decree must reflect, word for word, the same article of the agreement agreed for the period 2023 to 2025, regarding that bonus of 50% of the salary, which must be paid each year during the month of March.”
However, that is not the only point where there are still differences. According to Villegas, the workers also ask for a leveling wage because they feel like “the Cinderella of all ministries“.
He argued that there are officials “with salaries that do not adjust to the responsibility in the work of inspection and surveillance, adding the different procedures, compared to the other inspection and control entities that do enjoy decent salaries, in accordance with the responsibility they have.
How much would the approved bonus cost?
Minister Ramírez stated last Friday that paying the bonus to officials would cost $5.5 billion in 2024. Likewise, he reported that the portfolio is already making progress in the delivery of school kits and regulates teleworkingother of the strike’s requests.
Frozen services
The workers of this entity throughout the country closed the facilitiesthey do not serve the public nor issue certificates for an indefinite period of time.
Against time
This strike takes place during a crucial moment for the legislative agenda of the Government and the Ministry of Labor. They both hope that reform pension surpass the last debate in the plenary session of Camera of Representatives before June 20. If the project is not approved by the date, it will sink.
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