Minister for the Presidency Gustavo Montalvo says that the government needs to reach a consensus to carry out a reform of the Labor Code.
He said that the government is proposing to set up a commission including specialists from the public and private sector and workers’ representatives in order to draw up a plan to carry out reform in a legal framework.
The minister said that whatever changes are made to the Labor Code, it would be conceived with the same humanitarian viewpoint as the rest of the work being done by this administration. He said in no way would the government back reforms that would reduce worker gains.
In its page two editorial today, Monday 10 June, El Dia asks whether the review can take place without first resolving the challenge of informal employment, which currently creates more jobs than formal employment. “Summing up, would it be valid to have a new labor code if at present it is only at the service of an immense minority? The majority, the informal workforce, is on the streets, avenues, in the markets, sports stadiums, and if this continues without the economic measures and necessary incentives, more and more Dominicans will be forced to find jobs in the informal sector.”
As drafted today, formal sector employers have to pay employees upwards of 60% of their paycheck in other benefits and legal charges. This discourages job creation in the formal sector and especially discourages employment in small businesses that are subject to the same requirements as big business.
www.listindiario.com/la-republica/2013/6/9/280048/Montalvo-aclara-que-sin-consenso-el-Gobierno-no-auspiciara-reforma-al