Santiago.- The executive director of the Santiago Chamber of Commerce and Production, Fernando Puig, called for keeping discussions open regarding the Labor Code reform and warned that there are still points of consensus among the involved sectors that do not appear in the proposal currently under debate in legislative bodies.
Puig considered that the public discussion has been marked by misinformation and maintained that the moment requires continuing the dialogue between employers, workers, and authorities to reach a balanced reform that strengthens the formal labor market without affecting acquired rights.
“The most critical issue remains unemployment, but it is important to sit at the table and continue talking. There are many aspects that were agreed upon and that do not appear in the version that has been presented for approval,” he/she expressed.
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The business leader reiterated that at no time has it been proposed to eliminate severance pay or apply retroactive changes that affect the rights accumulated by workers. He explained that the proposals discussed seek to establish mechanisms that allow for boosting the generation of formal jobs and improving the competitiveness of companies.
According to Puig, one of the main challenges of the Dominican labor market is the high rate of informality, which is around 50%, a situation that limits the scope of labor guarantees and affects economic growth. In that sense, he indicated that any modification to the Labor Code must focus on expanding formalization and creating favorable conditions for hiring.
He also pointed out that the debate on severance pay mainly impacts workers with higher salaries, which is why he considers it necessary to analyze alternatives that allow for the preservation of rights without hindering the ability of companies to expand and create new job positions.
Beyond severance, Puig highlighted that there are numerous aspects of labor legislation that can be modernized through agreements between the parties. Among them, he mentioned extended workdays, continuous shifts, remote work, new hiring modalities, and mechanisms to avoid practices that, in his view, end up benefiting third parties to the detriment of employees and employers.
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“The goal must be to find the best option for the country. Although there are conflicting positions on some issues, there are many other points where significant progress can be made to modernize the Labor Code and adapt it to the new realities of the labor market,” he concluded.
Puig’s statements come at a time when various business, union, and government sectors hold divergent positions on labor reform, especially regarding severance, one of the most debated aspects of the proposal.
