Government takes advantage of Social Security restructuring to remove leaders appointed by the PS

The changes will cost the State, which will have to pay compensation to leaders who leave before the end of their term. The 18 district Social Security centers now have leaders chosen by the AD Government.

In recent weeks, the Government has accelerated the replacement of district directors of Social Security, taking advantage of a organic restructuring of the Social Security Institute (ISS) which allowed the current service commissions to be terminated early.

According to the statement, the decision led to the departure of nine directorssome with a mandate until 2028. The departures prompted criticism from the Workers’ Party, which accuses the Executive of using the administrative reform to promote appointments politically aligned with the PSD.

By the end of May, the two Democratic Alliance governments had replaced only eight district directorsin most cases due to the end of mandates, retirement, death or voluntary departure. However, after the publication of the new ISS statutes at the end of May, the pace of changes intensified, allowing the Executive to move towards replacing practically all district directorates.

With these changes, the 18 district Social Security centers They are now led by leaders chosen during Montenegro’s governments, although many are only on a replacement basis until the mandatory public examinations are held.

The restructuring approved by the Government determines the automatic termination of directors’ service commissions. However, the measure will have costs for the Stateas the law provides compensation for those responsible who were removed before the end of their term due to the reorganization of services. Compensation corresponds to the salary difference between the management position and the original position, during the remaining period of the mandate, up to a limit of one year.

The Socialist Party contests the decision and considers that the reform served as a pretext for remove leaders appointed during António Costa’s governments. Representative Hugo Oliveira accuses the Executive of privileging partisan interests to the detriment of good public management. “What is at stake is not an administrative reform, but an operation to replace directors without any public competition”, he emphasizes.

Among the directors who left their positions are those responsible for the district centers of Aveiro, Leiria, Setúbal, Castelo Branco, Porto, Faro, Coimbra and Guarda. Most had known connections to PSalthough some terms did not end for several years.

The Ministry of Labor, led by Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, has not officially confirmed the names of the replacements, only indicating that the appointments will be announced in due course.