In the middle of the XL weekend, Río Negro was mired in a scandal. The governor Alberto Weretilneckfrom the provincial party Juntos Somos Río Negro (JSRN) and which is in full joint negotiation, went to court and criminally denounced two doctors for broadcasting more than 400 “truchos” medical certificates which meant 6602 days not worked and a loss to the provincial State of more than $400 million. Both the State Workers Association (ATE) how the Health union responded to the accusations: they spoke of “specific events.”
“Between December 2023 and May 2024, the two doctors from General Roca and Villa Regina that we reported to the Justice Department, delivered 472 certificates to workers from the Río Negro Police, the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health. They operated in different locations in the province and issued the certificates through WhatsAppwithout prior consultation,” Weretilneck highlighted on his social networks.
In his message, the governor noted a detail: “This translates into 6602 days not worked which cost the Province more than $400,000,000. “This is the amount that all of us in Rio Negro had to pay for people who obtained illegal licenses and did not show up to work properly.”
One of the doctors denounced by the local Executive appears in the complaint identified with the initials CL and, according to government records, issued 320 certificates.
“The complaint arises from concerns about the high level of absenteeism recorded in the area. Internal investigations revealed a large number of medical certificates, all of them signed by the two doctors involved. The similarity between the certificates and the extent of the licenses granted aroused suspicions, leading to the formalization of the complaint before the Public Prosecutor’s Office. The Province of Río Negro has been established as a plaintiff in this case,” the Rio Negro government officially stated.
The complaint is for fraud to the detriment of the public administration in an ideal competition and issuance of a false medical certificate. The certificates diagnosed anxiety disorders to varying degrees, disorders reactive anxious-depressives and disorders posttraumatic stress. “There were renewals of temporary licenses that ended up extending for more than a year without detailing the progression of the disease,” they detail in Río Negro.
But outside of the complaint, in Río Negro they are investigating another 20 health professionals for the same behaviors. “When we talk about falsification of certificates, we also talk about the negative economic impact that this type of behavior has for the provincial State. We are going to continue until the doctors we have under investigation lose their professional registration, we are not going to allow them to continue practicing illegally. to the provincial State and to all the people of Rio Negro,” Weretilneck remarked.
The investigation extends to the cities of General Roca; the capital, Viedma; Los Menucos, and Cipolletti.
Weretlineck assumed power in Río Negro in January 2012, when Governor Carlos Soria was assassinated by his wife, Susana Freydoz. Since then, he only left power in the four years in which Arabela Carreras governed, between 2019 and 2023. Last year he was elected with 31.38% of the votes.
The response of the unions to the Weretilneck complaint
Based on the complaint, Clarion consulted ATE Río Negro. “It is a complaint made by the Government and of which we still do not know details, for example neither the name of the professionals, nor the identities of the workers to whom the false certification was issued. The evidence will be provided in the file of investigation and beyond what the officials, both the governor and the Secretary of the Public Service, have been maintaining, these are some professionals who issued a disproportionate number of certificates, attended to them on the same dates and in different cities of the province,” remarks Rodrigo Vicente, general secretary of ATE Río Negro.
“These are specific events and it is not known which sectors the agents belong to, whether they are teachers or health workers, or what power of the State. In all cases They are individual behaviors that must be investigated. Of course, if there are responsibilities, they should be condemned,” Vicente highlights.
“These behaviors should not be taken as generalized among state workers in the province. Our union defends workers who make an effort every day, who give up a large part of their lives to guarantee the functioning of the State, even in conditions labor conditions that are not optimal and must be improved,” Vicente differentiated when asked about Clarion.
And he concluded: “Of course it is not ruled out that this complaint is part of a government strategy to try to delegitimize the fair demand for a salary increase that the front of state unions in the province has.”
At the same time, Clarion He also consulted the Public Health Union Association of Río Negro (ASSPUR). “Clearly the union’s position is that absolutely everything be investigated and that we get to know what the situation really is,” they highlighted. And in that sense, they added: “If there is someone who committed an illegality, it must first be verified and of course punished.”
On the other hand, ASSPUR maintains that they have not yet had access to the government’s complaint. “We do not know if they are professionals from the public or private sector, although we know that it is indistinct for the purposes of the investigation,” they indicated.
Weretilneck’s complaint to Justice occurs while a sector of the state negotiate joint ventures. One of the points of conflict is the “laundering” of part of the salary that appears as non-remunerative, as happens in the Health sector.
