Senate approves insistence and project to readjust the public sector returns to the Chamber

The Senate unanimously approved the insistence requested by the Executive regarding the project of readjustment of the public sector that last week was rejected in its idea of ​​legislating by the Chamber of Deputies.

In this way, the initiative must go back to the House, which already has the voting contemplated in its agenda for Tuesday, which, if approved, would reach the Senate for a second process, an opportunity in which this hemicycle will see the bottom of the project.

Before voting on the insistence, Finance Minister Ignacio Briones recalled that this weekend the government reached an agreement to deliver a special bonus to about 200 health workers. “This milestone shows our willingness to move forward. We can have different opinions, but I think we must agree that this year the readjustment should be different because we are in a tight situation, “he said.

It should be remembered that the project contemplates a 2.7% readjustment for salaries under $ 1,500,000, and a 0.8% for higher salaries. In addition, and this is the point for which it was rejected by the deputies, the project reduces the vacation bonus by half and does not include a bonus for the end of the conflict, which in the opinion of the detractors implies a reduction in the remuneration that officials will receive in 2021 compared to this year. “We proposed half the vacation bonus for obvious reasons. Hopefully the Senate accepts the insistence to return to the Chamber and we can continue talking about the rest, “said Briones.

Although there was a majority stance to allow the bill to continue, several opposition MPs expressed concerns about the wide range of issues the bill addresses that go beyond readjustment. It is a common practice that governments end up incorporating in this initiative, which is generally the last one dispatched in the year, different issues that were pending in the budget discussion.