Africa-Press – Cape verde. Employees of the Cape Verde embassy in Rome, hired locally, have been living, for decades, in embarrassing situations because of the alleged neglect of successive Governments in relation to their labor rights. None of these employees are entitled to social security or the other rights of an ordinary worker in Italy. Ambassador Jorge Gonçalves the process “is moving” and at “a good pace” to resolve the “situation”.
Numa carta subscrita pelos seis funcionários da embaixada de Cabo Verde em Roma, que A NAÇÃO teve acesso, e que tinha sido dirigida ao então ministro do Negócios Estrangeiros, Luís Filipe Tavares, em Novembro de 2020, fala-se em situações de “escravatura”, porquanto, ao longo dos anos, essa missão diplomática “nunca” formalizou os vínculos laborais dos seus colaboradores, incumprindo, assim, com as imposições obrigatórias do estado italiano em matéria de contratação de funcionários locais.
Afirmam ainda que a regularização dos seus vínculos laborais “foi-se protelando” ao longo dos anos, sem que os sucessivos chefes de missão tivessem conseguido resolver o problema.
“Tanto é verdade que a última tentativa de solucionar o mesmo foi apresentada pelo actual chefe de missão, com uma concreta para os Orçamentos do Estado de 2019 e 2010, que, mais uma vez, como é do nosso conhecimento, não mereceu a atenção das instâncias competentes”.
Problemas acrescidos
Fazem questão de esclarecer que os custos sociais inerentes à contratação de um trabalhador na Itália “são elevados”, ou seja, calculados em mais do dobro do vencimento líquido auferido, com a agravante de estarem previstos ajustes automáticos de categoria e salário com o decorrer do tempo de serviço.
They also recall that, in order to resolve the “chronic problem” of contractual irregularity in embassies, the Government of Cape Verde, through Decree-Law 9/2016 of 12 February, in its article 5, provided for the regularization of the situation of locally hired employees. within 45 days after the entry into force of the diploma.
At the Cape Verde embassy in Rome, there are currently six employees hired locally: Maria Silva, equivalent to a senior technician, who is responsible for administration and finance; Nelson de Brito, equivalent to administrative assistant – Consular Section; Jilvar Maria Soares Duarte, equivalent to administrative assistant, acting as secretary to the head of mission, Dannya Lopes, equivalent to administrative assistant – Consular Section (part-time); José António Almeida, acting as head of mission conductor, João Pires, acting as gardener, without any contractual relationship.
Of these six employees, five work full-time and one works part-time. However, only Maria Silva and Nelson Brito have an employment relationship, but the embassy has never paid them social security. The rest have no employment relationship and have never been registered with Italian social security.
This illegality towards the local employees of the Cape Verdean embassy in Rome ends up creating several constraints and limitations for them in this transalpine country, such as the deprivation of freedom of movement.
Also because they face difficulties with Italian public institutions declaring themselves unemployed and in this condition they are not allowed to obtain bank credit, rent housing with dignity or even enter into contracts for water, electricity and telephone. All of this, not to mention the “impossibility” of enrolling children in day care in certain schools, of enjoying social assistance services such as the family doctor, etc.
“In Italy, any service is linked to social security registration. If a worker is not enrolled in it, he is not entitled to a residence permit, family doctor and all related services, such as medical/drug and hospital assistance, work insurance. It does not enjoy the benefits provided by the Welfare State, such as maternity, unemployment, it is not entitled to a future reform”, they emphasize.
“New Slaves”
“Many of us have survived while ‘reliant’ on our partners who claim to be under their responsibility or simply enjoying an Italian healthcare system that by constitution is for everyone”.
Faced with this humiliating situation, they ask that their work situation be regularized, as they consider that they are currently in a situation of “new slaves”.
The signatories also recall that, in the past, “three employees resorted to justice, after the end of their employment relationship with this embassy and, in all cases, it was ordered to pay large amounts of compensation”. They also point out that “such reimbursements not only involved an economic effort for Cape Verde, but also penalized our State in terms of image in the country of accreditation”.
Resolution for “soon” because workers “deserve it”
Contacted by A NAÇÃO to react to the complaints made by officials at the representation in Rome, Ambassador Jorge Gonçalves began by emphasizing that the precarious work situation of the employees of this diplomatic mission “has been decades”.
He states, however, that, “luckily”, the process is progressing and at a “good pace” in the sense of regularizing “once and for all the work situation of workers here”. As he says, “fundamental work was done, which even has costs, but everything is in order at the moment. The process is in the central services and soon they will tell us about their justice”.
Gonçalves also considers that this situation of precarious work of these employees has not had any implications for their professional performance. “These employees deserve, in fact, that their situations be regularized”, because, “despite being working without their work situations being regularized, they are dedicated people and work with a sense of responsibility”.
The “commitment” of these officials, according to this ambassador, leads him to exert a certain “pressure” on the central services, in order to solve this problem, because “they deserve it”.
We tried to establish contacts with the director-general of Budget Planning and Management (DGPOG) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Odete Correia, but she did not answer our phone calls or respond to our message.
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