The Public Ministry (MP) is investigating the outsourcing of employees of the Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML), after receiving a complaint that they entered the highest remuneration rate, according to the Attorney General’s Office (PGR).
“The receipt of a complaint related to the aforementioned matter is confirmed. It gave rise to an inquiry that is being investigated by the DIAP. [Departamento de Investigação e Ação Penal] Lisbon”, reported the PGR, in response to the Lusa news agency.
At stake are the external hiring of SCML employees, who entered the institution with the highest remuneration rate, while the other workers remained with frozen progressions.
The news was announced by the newspaper NOVO Semanário, on Friday, which indicated that “the MP investigates ‘strange’ hiring in the institution”, noting that, according to the unions, the situation involves “employees who, upon entry, receive salaries corresponding to the highest remuneration indexwhile the rest of the employees remain with frozen career progressions ”.
As part of SCML’s intervention, the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security (MTSSS) requested an external audit of Santa Casa Global, created to manage lottery and betting games in the foreign market.
According to a source from Minister Ana Mendes Godinho’s office, two separate processes are currently underway, on the one hand, the reassessment of SCML’s Management Reports and Accounts for the years 2021 and 2022, and, on the other hand, a “External and independent evaluation of Santa Casa Global, within the framework of the process of internationalization of games”.
The two processes arose “as a result of the inauguration of the new SCML Board of Directors,” says the office of the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security.
The re-evaluation of the 2021 and 2022 Management Reports and Accounts occurs after the “deep evaluation” requested by the MTSSS to ratify the institution’s accounts, and which the minister reported in April at a parliamentary hearing, at the request of the PSD , on SCML Management.
An MTSSS source explained that after carrying out this “in-depth evaluation”, SCML was asked to re-evaluate the accounts for the years 2021 and 2022, which is ongoing.
In April, when Minister Ana Mendes Godinho was called to parliament to clarify the reasons why she had not ratified the SCML accounts, the official explained that “an exhaustive evaluation of all items” was being carried out and justified the decision not to ratify with the “great variation”. occurred, either in expenses or in income, which implied a deep evaluation and analysis of the accounts, even to guarantee the future […] and guarantee its sustainability.
At the same time, the MTSSS requested an external audit of Santa Casa Global, a company with participation of SCML, “operator of lottery and betting games aimed at creating international companies to implement and manage operations outside Portuguese territory”, whose order dates of June 12.
“Headquartered in Portugal and backed by the vast experience of Jogos Santa Casa, the objective of Santa Casa Global is to implement a socially responsible business model, using innovative technology to offer the best experience to customers, adapting to their needs and preferences” , reads the company’s website, which adds that it currently operates in Peru, Brazil, Mozambique and “developing the expansion process to other countries.”
In April, Santa Casa Global was chosen to operate, exclusively, games and lotteries in the state of Brasilia, in Brazil, but the Court of Accounts of the Federal District of Brasilia suspended the agreement, considering that it could violate the law reported CNN Portugal.
Source: Observadora
