President Carlos Alvardo, on Wednesday, requested to renegotiate the collective agreements of State institutions because some of the bonuses or “pluses” in Spanish that are bleeding the State finances.
The perks were born out of the necessity to make some public service jobs that nobody wanted more competitive. However, over the years, these perks became bigger and some more absurd at some public institutions.
Among them, according to Rocio Aguilar, the new Minister of Finance, who is urging legislators to do their part to eliminate them, are:
Lechita: There is one State institution that gives a carton of milk per week to all its employees.
Time is money: There are State institutions that pay employees for the time they spend in traffic. Takes two hours to get to work and then two back home? An extra fours hours pay a day? Now you know the reason for all the traffic congestion.
Personal mechanic: Although unbelievable, there are State institutions that provide a mechanic’s shop for employees to fix their personal cars.
Personnel staff: State institutions contract private companies to manage the employee savings fund.
Danger pay: There are institutions that pay an additional percentage to their employees for the “dangerousness” of the work. And we’re not talking about police, fire, and paramedics.
Areas of difficulty: Some civil servants are overpaid because they have to go through (and live) in areas of “difficulty” that, in some cases, are not.
Annuities: They were invented to give an incentive to people who do their job well and ended up giving them to everyone even if they do not.
Severance pay: There are State institutions in which you do not have to be fired to get severance pay…even if you resign, they give it to you!
Double take: There are jobs at some State institutions where a university degree is counted twice. That is you get a higher pay because the job requires a university degree and then get a bonus for having the degree.
Four times pay: There are State institutions that will pay four times the salary if asked to work an ’emergency shift’. Show up for one hour, get paid for four and so on.
“I Do”: Some State institutions will pay their employees ¢35,000 to get married.
Studying part-time: Benefits are paid to employees for part-time studies, up to a maximum of six hours a week.
High altitudes: There are institutions that pay extra if required to work at high altitudes.
It’s hot out there!: The same if asked to work in places where the temperature exceeds 45 degrees Celsius.
Source: Ideas Labs.
