Panamanian social organizations reject social security reforms

Panama. Social organizations in Panama on Wednesday rejected the appointment of businessman Dino Mon as director of the state-owned Social Security Fund (CSS) and the measures announced to address the financial crisis of that entity.

At a demonstration outside the National Assembly (parliament) at the time when the legislative commission was ratifying the appointment of the official proposed by the President of the Republic, José Raúl Mulino, the participants declared themselves on permanent alert against attempts to privatize the CSS.

The coordinator of the National Front for the Defense of Economic and Social Rights (Frenadeso), Jorge Guzmán, told the press that at the head of the only public institution that serves retirees and pensioners, there should be someone who seeks benefits for the population and not a promoter of parametric measures that affect workers and their families.

In this regard, he indicated that Mon is already known and now he showed his true face by suggesting raising the retirement age and the employer-employee quota, which is detrimental to the quality of life of the population that demands a decent retirement.

This protest, Guzmán said, is in response to one of the actions agreed upon at a recent forum of popular organizations from the isthmus determined to defend social security to the last consequences.

During the event, Mulino received representatives of 29 teachers’ unions at the Palacio de las Garzas (headquarters of the Executive) to hear proposals for a bill to be submitted to Parliament next October on reforms to the CSS.

The president previously met with heads of political parties, businessmen and union leaders, and in all of these scenarios he asserted that his administration does not plan to privatize the CSS, although he pointed out that the burden of the financial reserves needed to alleviate the crisis will fall on taxpayers, without referring to the taxes that should be imposed on large companies that evade taxes, according to the groups.

The CSS offers health services to insured and retired people and to do so it manages the largest staff in the entire state apparatus, with 31,356 employees, and a budget of close to seven billion dollars.

The biggest challenges currently facing the company are the reserves of the exclusively defined benefit subsystem and the CSS trust fund, which will be exhausted this year.