The Azores delegation of the National Association of Parishes (ANAFRE) revealed this Wednesday that the region’s parish councils need to hire 900 workers to fill the shortage of personnel.
“We wanted to understand what we really needed for the joints to work. We concluded that we would need about 900 employees regionally to get the parish councils up and running.“, said Marco Furtado, from ANAFRE/Azores.
The regional delegation of ANAFRE was heard today in the Economy Commission of the Parliament of the Azores on a PS initiative that calls for “predictability and adequacy of human and economic resources” of the parish councils of the Azores.
Marco Furtado, who chairs the Junta da Ribeirinha, in Ribeira Grande, on the island of São Miguel, stressed that the “lack of labor” has been one of the “fights” of the 156 parishes in the region.
“Put these [900] people everything in the framework is a fortune. Is if. It is true. Its a lot of money. But we are investing in people, which is the most important thing.“, he highlighted.
The representative of ANAFRE/Azores considered that the PS diploma allows “taking a step forward” in the protocols between the boards and the Regional Government (PSD/CDS-PP/PPM), but warned that “more must be done”.
The PS diploma is correct. We need help. Parish councils need help. But since it is going to move, we go to the Assembly of the Republic and try to change the question of the law itself. [das finanças locais]”, he highlighted.
José Leal, deputy coordinator of ANAFRE/Azores, who was also heard in the commission, praised the PS initiative, but said that it was necessary to “have concrete measures to give more stability” to the workers and the local administration.
“The measure is correct and good, but we must take a step forward. We don’t have to wear band-aids. We have to look for something deep down that gives us guarantees of stability for the workers,” she said.
In the diploma, the PS defends that the agreements, protocols and program contracts concluded between the Regional Government and the parish councils of the region be extended until December 31, 2024.
The Socialists also ask “to change the economic participation of the region in the agreements, protocols and program contracts concluded between the Regional Government and the parish councils, for the budget year of 2022, 2023 and 2024”.
The PS initiative also wants the “urgent and extraordinary extension, for a maximum period of another twelve months, of the assignment to the parish councils of the region, of the workers who were or are covered by professional insertion programs, in the last six months”. .
The representatives of ANAFRE/Azores were also heard about a diploma presented by the independent deputy Carlos Furtado that aims to create “monetary support for the increase in typology and improvement of energy efficiency in housing.”
For José Manuel Leal, the initiative “is moving in the right direction”, but it is necessary to “assure some legal issues”.
“At a social level, this draft resolution is important. It has a social impact, it is important, but there are juridical and legal issues that are important to note”, considered the mayor who presides over the São Pedro Parish Council, in Ponta Delgada.
Source: Observadora
