FESAP, the federation of public sector workers, says staffing problems at the Labour ministry have caused a massive backlog of work.
New pensions are being ‘delayed’ by up to 9 months, while Social Security’s central office has been deluged by thousands of complaints, “the majority dating back more than a year”.
The government’s hiring of 100 temporary workers to catch-up on the workload “is not solving the problem”, says FESAP leader José Abraão stressing that internal staffing problems mean businesses that are not paying staff contributions correctly are not being checked or fined.
“It’s resulting in a loss of revenue for the whole Social Security system”, he explained.
Federation representatives have requested an urgent meeting with Minister for Labour Vieira da Silva who has said that the staffing crisis is “exceptional”, with recruitment drives ongoing.
Tabloid Correio da Manhã says the minister has not responded with a comment on FESAP’s claims over payment delays.
