Decree banning layoffs extended

The minister of Labor, María Cristina Iglesias announced the approval, by the Council of Ministers, of a six month extension of the provisional decree against dismissal of employees with salaries below 600,000 bolívares (approximately 321U$) per month.

Iglesias explained that the special ban decreed "will entitle workers (during the period of validity of the decree) to request their rehiring and the subsequent payment of the salaries they would have received during the layoff". She explained that the temporary ban on dismissals does not imply impunity, “it doesn’t mean that employees can neglect their duties and still keep their jobs”.

Nevertheless, she commented that employees and employers can willingly reach agreements, and that this Council decision does not include directors, employees holding confidential or high responsibility posts, workers with fewer than three months in the job, or those earning above 600,000 bolívares.

She explained that this decree does not include public employees, since the official regulations for public office already stipulate a permanent non-dismissal measure in favor of public employees.

In the face of strike threats in hospitals under the jurisdiction of the Metropolitan City Government (Alcaldía Mayor), she indicated that “the unions plotting them have been detected” and that their aim is to use these attempted halts as means of political manipulation.

Published in Quantum No. 34