RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Uruguay‘s Chamber of Deputies will have an annual saving of US$3.4 million (143 million Uruguayan pesos, R$17 million) as a result of the austerity measures announced in recent weeks.
This includes both eliminating press and photocopy expenses for legislators, as well as a 51 percent reduction in the number of staff positions created and the decision to no longer finance mineral water bottles for those in power.
To this number, more than US$1 million must now be added to the investment item that the Chamber of Deputies decided to place in the hands of the Tax Authority. This is a one-time contribution – not an annual one like the others.
Neither is the sum of money raised by limiting the paid leave wages to legislators added to the above. When a legislator requested a leave of absence during a session, a daily wage was paid to each alternate who served. If there were three of them, three would be paid. This change means that only one day’s pay is provided. Time will tell how much will be saved.
From 2015 to date, the Chamber of Deputies has spent US$3.5 million on such paid leaves.
This whole set of measures was promoted by Chamber president Martín Lema, within the framework of an austerity plan that the government is promoting at a national level.
Source: LA NACION