|
|
|
|
||
|
||
|
|
||
| SEARCH | SUBSCRIBE | ||
|
Board members from Ecuador's Social Security institute on Friday appealed a resolution removing them from office during an uprising by senior citizens demanding an increase in their pensions. The Andean nation's banking superintendency last week fired its three-member board for "blocking supervision and control" after the board raised pensions by 24 percent. The government had warned there was no money for such a raise. The government's representative to the board agreed to give up his post. But two other members, who represent workers and employers, appealed the ruling to the country's banking junta, responsible for decisions in banking and insurance. "The superintendent does not have the right to do this, he is violating the law," said Bruno Frixone, who has served as the employers' representative to the board. The shake-up at Social Security comes amid an ongoing protest by senior citizens to demand a pension increase. Congress approved a raise for pensioners to minimum wage, but President Lucio Gutierrez rejected the proposal, arguing the government lacked the $200 million needed to do so. Instead, Gutierrez has proposed raising the country's Value Added Tax (VAT) one percentage point to 13 percent to finance a pension increase, but lawmakers are reluctant to pass responsibility for pensions to the nation's 12 million people. Government officials, lawmakers and elderly demonstrators are meeting in Quito with the hope of finding a solution to the crisis, which has raised concerns about a lack of government financing this year and the Social Security system. The government aims to raise $1 billion this year through domestic debt issues to stay on top of paying state workers' salaries and service providers in this year's budget.
|
