The president of the Central Única de Trabajadores (CUT), Richard Gómez, finally assumed this Thursday, January 5, 2023, the office at the Ecuadorian Social Security Institute (IESS) as the representative of the workers on the Board of Directors.
He was presented in October by some organizations as a candidate for the workers’ membership of the IESS Board of Directors, but other union centrals nominated other people and this led to a struggle that was taken to court.
Gómez assured that on Friday, December 30, he signed the personnel action that officially makes him the missing member to be replaced in the IESS, since the employer representative did manage to be qualified and installed within the provisions issued by the Government – through an executive decree – for the replacement of the members of this Board of Directors since the previous ones had been in extended functions for years.
He indicated that even on Saturday he already participated in his first session of the Board of Directors of the IESS and that assuming the position is not only given “in compliance with the democratic part based on Decree 571 but also the sentence handed down by the constitutional judge of the case that Unfortunately, we had to take it to constitutional justice, the case is closed, the sentence is enforceable”.
He considers that now that this issue is finalized, the other judge must refrain from hearing the case filed by the historical union centrals that nominated another candidate: Ramiro García.
Those union and social organizations that make up the Unitary Front of Workers (FUT) do not recognize Gómez as a representative of the workers and this Thursday they resolved to hold permanent meetings to define actions such as mobilizations, sit-ins, concentrations and legal measures.
They are looking for “actions in defense of Social Security and its legitimate owners who are affiliates, pensioners, peasants and retirees. Richard Gómez does not represent the workers, but the Government”, indicates the official statement of the Ecuadorian Confederation of Unitary Class Organizations of Workers (Cedocut).
Representative of the FUT announced on Tuesday that they filed a criminal complaint against Gómez for alleged usurpation of public service functions and also objected to the IESS authorities if they signed the personnel action so that the president of the CUT assumes in the Board of Directors when there was a judicial measure that prevented it.
The problem of the formation of the Board of Directors has been dragging on for at least eight years. The Constitutional Court accepted a claim of unconstitutionality on the formation of the Board of Directors, since it was considered that all the possible sectors that made up both the employer and the worker sector were not being taken into account. The Court ruled that two paragraphs of article 28 of the Social Security Law that referred to the issue remained deferred unconstitutionality, until the Assembly drafted another law that clarified the issue. However, the law only came out in 2021, but it was vetoed by President Guillermo Lasso, since it was considered that the greatest inclusion was not met and that the establishment of a rotating presidency would affect governability and generate politicization. The Assembly had to wait a year to retake the issue, but although the deadline had passed, it did not.
As a measure to get out of the trap, on October 3, the Government issued decree 571 that reformed the regulations to elect the members of the Council, both those who represent the business sector and the worker. The President of the Republic gave 15 days to appoint a candidate from each sector to be qualified by the Superintendency of Banks. The process was fulfilled with respect to the representative of the employers, but not with respect to the workers, who presented more than one candidate. In that interval, the Assembly ratified the law that the Presidency had vetoed and the Superintendency considered that it could no longer continue with the process determined in Decree 571.
Gómez managed to be classified in December by the Superintendency of Banks as a member of the workers through a ruling by a judge from Quevedo, but a worker from the Municipality of Mejía filed a protection action so that the control body does not continue with the issue. . That request, which included a precautionary measure, should have been resolved at a hearing on January 4. (YO)
Source: Eluniverso
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