Coronavirus: Uruguay tightens its belt to finance an emergency fund

Uruguayan President Luis Lacalle Pou during a press conference on the Covid-19 pandemic on March 13, 2020 in Montevideo. Uruguay's presidency / AFP

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While Uruguay registers 274 cases of Covid-19 contamination in its territory, the salary of the president, ministers and officials will be temporarily lowered.

Publicity

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With our correspondent in Montevideo, Théo Conscience

The measure concerns all sectors of the Uruguayan public service, except the health sector. In all, 15,000 civil servants earning more than 80,000 pesos a month, or about $ 1,900, will see their wages decrease by 5, 10, 15 or 20% over the next two months.

The savings, estimated at $ 12 million, will fuel the "coronavirus fund" created by the government to finance the fight against the virus, and moreover already credited with $ 400 million by the state.

Public service retirees and affected parliamentarians

Public service retirees are also involved. Parliamentarians and members of the government will also see their salaries drop by 20%, as will the President of the Republic, Luis Lacalle Pou. " It is not a sympathetic measure, recognized the latter , but for us it is a measure of solidarity ".

These wage cuts, which could be renewed depending on the development of the health crisis, however, caused discomfort on the side of public service unions. They deplore not having been consulted in advance, and regret that the private sector does not have to participate in this solidarity effort, by a tax on capital or on the highest incomes, for example.

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  • Uruguay
  • Coronavirus
  • Health and Medicine
  • Luis Lacalle Pou

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