Affiliated workers of FENTICOMMC in mobilization in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Since Thursday 19 April, unionized workers of FENTICOMMC, BWI's affiliate in Dominican Republic, protested against a new law proposal discussed only by the Pension Fund Administrators (AFP), the employers and the Government related to Social Security System reform.
The reform is proposing harmful changes to workers who contribute to social security system in this country, since: "it represents a death blow to workers, because while Government pretends to exempt employers from billions of pesos and double the profits of the AFPs, regular workers will be forced to continue paying," said Pedro Julio Alcántara, General Secretary of the National Federation of Construction, Wood and Building Materials Workers (FENTICOMMC).
The federation has announced that will convene its 109 unions throughout the country, to implement a plan of struggle, preserve rights of its members, return to tripartite dialogue and not harm workers. "Next month, we will be showing to National Congress our rejection to this proposal. It will not be with a letter, but with thousands of workers at the streets", warned Alcántara.
In December 2018, BWI held the 4th Regional Conference and an International Conference on Social Security in the Americas, where more than 500 delegates from Latin America and the Caribbean firmly rejected the privatization tendencies of pension and social security systems in the countries of the region.