The Dominican Confederation of Employers (Conpardom) has requested a 90-day postponement of the start of the new pension plan under the Social Security Office. The employers union says that they need a clear definition of exactly how the provisions for letting employees go will work. These financial provisions are known as ?cesant?a? and provide for unemployment benefits. Virgilio Ortega Vidal, the president of the confederation, says that employers are not in any condition to withstand the expense of a dual system of unemployment insurance that would occur if revisions are not incorporated into the new system.
According to the List?n Diario, the Industrial Association of the Dominican Republic (AIRD) has also said that until this matter is cleared up, its members cannot get estimates of how much the employers will have to pay into the unemployment fund. Lisandro Macarrulla, AIRD?s president, says the organization is worried that double payments will become obligatory if the new system goes into effect without removing the obligations of the older system. Macarrulla told reporters that for this reason the members of the AIRD will not use the new system next Thursday, unless the unemployment insurance issues are resolved.