Unions reject Uribe’s unemployment insurance plan

Colombia’s workers unions reject the plan of President Alvaro Uribe for an unemployment insurance.

According to Tarcisio Mora, chairman of Colombia’s largest union CUT, it would be unfair to let workers subsidize unemployment benefits while the government gives subsidies to corporations.

“It means that we ourselves need to subsidize the unemployment there is in Colombia today. To me this seems another blow for the situation in which workers live,” the union leader told Caracol Radio.

According to Julio Roberto Gomez, chairman of union CGT, the government had better studied proposals by the unions to look for a real policy to stimulate employment.

“The proposal is well intended, but to let the people pay an unemployment subsidy, you need to give them employment first,” Gomez told the same radio station.

“Where will the people get the money to pay an unemployment insurance when 86 percent of the economically active population has an income that is below two minimum salaries, while the expenses for the lower class is above two minimum wages?” he added.

Uribe Thursday proposed to let workers pay for their own unemployment benefits, claiming the State does not have the resources to finance this itself.

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