He Ministry of Labor and Social Security (MTSS) formalized the extension of the program Groups in a Situation of Social Vulnerability In the departments of the west coast, one of the areas of Uruguay most affected by the delay of the exchange rate and the effects of the exchange difference with Argentina, also in terms of employment.
The program promotes the hiring of people between the ages of 15 and 29 and/or people over the age of 45 in the private sector, within the framework of the Work Protected by the Employment Promotion Law (No. 19,973).
The resolution expresses that “taking into account the indicators related to the employment of the coastal departments, as well as the conjuncture concerning the border, it is understood pertinent to extend the implementation of the Colectivos en Situación de Vulnerabilidad Social program to people living in the departments of Soriano, Rio Negro, Paysandu, Salto and Artigas, from May 1 to November 30 of the current year.
According to the latest information available from the National Statistics Institute (INE) With respect to employment by department corresponding to February, the unemployment indicators suffered a deterioration, particularly in the area of the border with Argentina. In this context, Unemployment in Salto exceeded 14%, something that has no recent history. Unemployment also rose in Artigas and paysandu (12.7% and 10.5%, respectively), while in Black river it yielded but due to a drop in the activity rate.
With a general worsening of this indicator at the national level —reaching 8.6% in March—, it is possible that the coast will also see its unemployment levels increase. At the same time, informality rates are also growing in these departments.
In this sense, the exchange gap with Argentina strongly affects employment in these departments. For the president of the Chamber of Commerce and Services of Uruguay (CCSUy), Julius Caesar LestidoIf the imbalance in the exchange rate continues, more and more Uruguayans will have to resort to unemployment insurance, and unemployment will continue to grow in the coastal region.
How does the MTSS program work?
Seeking to alleviate this not very optimistic reality, the MTSS extended the Collectives in Situation of Social Vulnerability program.
“When a company hires a person living in those departments, who is between 15 and 29 years old or over 45 years of age, who belongs to a household that is below the poverty line, the company will obtain a allowance of 60% of salary if the person is male, or 80% if female, for a maximum period of 12 months,” explained the National Director of Employment, Daniel Perez about the operation of the initiative.
The maximum amount of subsidy that companies can access is 33,789 pesos per month, for each new person they incorporate.
“The importance of this measure has to do with two effects. On the one hand, to be able to support the companies that are located in these departments that have a competitiveness problem caused by the exchange rate difference with Argentina; and in turn improve people’s chances of getting hiredfocusing on those who have the greatest difficulty accessing employment”, he added.
The hierarch stressed that “the entire process is carried out online, through Via Work. Companies must process the subsidy on this platform, before requesting BPS registration.
Source: Ambito
