Author: dev_

The Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTESS) and Equifax (owner of Informconf) signed an agreement to work together and eliminate the barrier that credit and commercial information represents when it comes to accessing jobs. The objective is that the information of people with debts will no longer be transmitted to labor intermediaries.

In addition, the company will work on financial education and the MTESS agreed to provide information on employers who do not comply with labor rights. Thus, it is also intended to reinforce education on the advantages of formalizing employment and the correct use of credit history.

The goal of this agreement is to achieve a control and compliance system that benefits both employers and workers.

For more information about the correct fulfillment of labor obligations, do not hesitate to contact Perla Alderete. palderete@vouga.com.py and Walter David Vera wvera@vouga.com.py.

Source: Paraguayan Information Agency

On May 10, what the authorities called the “event of the half-century” took place: the groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of the second bridge over the Paraná River between Paraguay and Brazil. This work will increase the competitiveness of the maquiladora industries in the area, considering that 87 of the 179 maquiladora industries operate in Alto Paraná and 75% of their production is moved by land.

This sector employs 6,654 people and records an export above USD 200 million, with the potential to continue growing. In fact, exports for the month of April 2019 amount to USD 66,584,258, which is 10% more than the same period last year.

The day before, the II Meeting of Maquiladores in Alto Paraná was held, in which the advantages that the construction of the bridge will bring to the industry were discussed. Among them, it is estimated that when the bridge is inaugurated -in three years- it will considerably increase not only commerce but also the tourist and hotel offer, transforming the zone into an industrial area and improving the quality of life of the people.

The authorities added that, by October, the operational processes related to the maquila will be automated to provide better service, control and work for dispatchers. All of this is aimed at digitizing processes, saving time and money.

For further information about the maquila regime, please contact Rodolfo G. Vouga rgvouga@vouga.com.py and Andres Vera avera@vouga.com.py.

Source: Ministry of Industry and Commerce, Paraguayan Information Agency.

The Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (Mades) convened all sectors of society to proceed with the study and elaboration of an Environmental Code. In this sense, it expects to count on the collaboration of private and public institutions, representatives of the civil society, the legislative power, the academic and productive sectors, among others.

The objective is to involve all sectors in a participatory manner with the launching of the code elaboration process. The intention of the authorities is that everyone can make their contributions and have the opportunity to make suggestions and give their opinion on the environmental laws in force and their application.

The ultimate goal is to bring together in a single regulatory body all the provisions governing environmental management.

For further information or assistance on environmental issues, please contact Walter David Vera wvera@vouga.com.py and Marta Martinez mmartinez@vouga.com.py.   

Source: Paraguayan Information Agency

The Bolsa de Valores y Productos de Asunción S.A. (BVPASA) has issued, with the prior approval of the Comisión Nacional de Valores (CNV), the following resolutions:

1. Resolution BVPASA No. 1878/19, which establishes the Regulations of the Bolsa de Valores y Productos S.A. as an Institution authorized to keep the Register of Deeded Shares.

2. Resolution BVPASA No. 1879/19, which establishes the Operating Regulations of the Bolsa de Valores y Productos de Asunción S.A. for the registration, deposit, custody, trading, clearing and settlement of dematerialized shares.

With the issuance of the aforementioned regulations, the Electronic Register of Book-Entry Shares of the BVPASA was authorized by the CNV to keep such register, and the Sociedades Anónimas Emisoras de Capital Abierto (S.A.E.C.A.) may proceed with the dematerialization of their shares, which will be represented by book entries, through their dematerialized issuance in the primary market or through the conversion of the physical or paper securities into book entries.

The aforementioned resolutions are evidence of a regulatory update that will strengthen the Paraguayan Securities Market, therefore it is important to highlight their issuance.

It is worth mentioning the active participation of Cynthia Fatecha, member of Vouga Abogados, in advising the Bolsa de Valores y Productos de Asunción S.A. in the issuance of the aforementioned resolutions.

Please find attached Resolutions N° 1878/19 and 1879/19 of the Bolsa de Valores y Productos de Asunción S.A., and if you have any questions or require clarification, please do not hesitate to contact Cynthia Fatecha (cfatecha@vouga.com.py).

As a Paraguayan member of the prestigious Employment Law Alliance (ELA), Vouga Abogados is pleased to invite all its clients and colleagues to participate free of charge in the Webinar “Employee Mobility & Family Migration: What HR Executives Need to Know” to be held on May 22, 2019.

ELA presents top lawyers from the Latin American region for a roundtable discussion on topics including:

• In-depth analysis of immigration and what human resources executives should know when hiring international employees.
• Short-term and long-term work assignments, employee and family migration, how to verify income requirements and much more.

As a Paraguayan member of the prestigious Employment Law Alliance (ELA), Vouga Abogados is pleased to invite all its clients and colleagues to participate free of charge in the Webinar “Protection of Trade Secrets” to be held on May 21, 2019.

ELA presents top attorneys for a roundtable discussion on topics including:

• Identification of effective measures and remedies to enforce trade secrets under European law.
• Measures to protect the company's interests through confidentiality clauses, restrictive covenants and more.

Last May 2, the “Trust Services for Electronic Transactions” bill was presented, which plans to harmonize Paraguayan regulation with other standards such as Regulation (EU) No. 910/2014 of the European Parliament and of the Council. It is a project that intends to regulate issues such as electronic identification, certified electronic delivery services, website authentication, electronic seals, electronic transmissible documents, among others.

The project was submitted by the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, as enforcement authority of the Digital Signature Law and within the framework of the objectives of the “Paraguay Digital” project. If approved, Law No. 4017/2010 “On the legal validity of electronic signatures, digital signatures, data messages and electronic files” will be repealed.

On the other hand, the head of the Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare also expressed his support for technology. In the health field, it would represent an improvement in the care and administration sectors. In fact, he stated that an electronic signature would soon be available for the use of an electronic vaccination certificate.

All these changes will require a regulatory framework to carry forward the implementation of technology towards the goal of achieving “e-Government”.

Sources: Ministry of Industry and Commerce and Ministry of Public Health and Social Welfare.

Since August of last year, more than 250 companies have been inspected, of which 35 have already been investigated. With the new controls, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTESS) has already collected more than 4 billion guaraníes in fines for non-compliance with labor regulations.

The purpose of these inspections is to strengthen the control of compliance with standards, particularly with respect to working conditions, occupational health and safety of workers, as well as the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases. According to statistics, the sectors with the highest number of infractions are cleaning, security, transportation and lodging.

The measures have reached a total of 3,196 workers, and 243 workers have also been migrated to the Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS) insurance. The number will continue to increase, as a large number of companies are still in the middle of the summary process.

This increase in inspections reinforces the importance for companies to be in compliance with labor regulations in order to avoid being subject to sanctions by the MTESS.

For more information about the correct compliance with labor standards, please do not hesitate to contact Perla Alderete (palderete@vouga.com.py) and Walter David Vera (wvera@vouga.com.py).

Source: Paraguayan Information Agency

Rodrigo Fernández, an associate of Vouga Abogados, participated as a speaker in a conference organized by the American Bar Association, Section of Labor & Employment Law in Buenos Aires, Argentina, from May 5 to 9. The title of the panel was ”Critical Issues and Trends in Labor and Employment Law in Latin America“. The panelists provided an overview and perspectives on the critical issues and current trends in Latin American labor law, as well as their implications for both employers and employees.

In this regard, Rodrigo Fernández spoke about the current situation of Paraguayan labor law and the progress that has been made in recent years with respect to:

• New labor regulations.
• Outsourcing of services.
• Non-competition clauses for former employees.

The same panel also included professionals from other countries who presented the current situation in their respective jurisdictions. They were Álvaro Aguilar (of Aguilar Castillo Love, San José, Costa Rica), Carolina Camacho (of Posse Herrera & Ruiz, Bogotá, Colombia) and Juan Carlos Pró-Risquez (of Dentons, Caracas, Venezuela). The moderator, Oscar De la Vega (of De la Vega & Martínez Rojas, Mexico City, Mexico), also took the opportunity to make some brief comments on the current labor reform in Mexico.

This talk was given in the framework of the “International Labor and Employment Law Committee - Midyear Meeting”, which was attended by 130 participants from the most diverse jurisdictions.

If you wish to know more about our practice in the area of labor law, please contact Perla Alderete (palderete@vouga.com.py), Walter David Vera (wvera@vouga.com.py) and Rodrigo Fernandez (rfernandez@vouga.com.py).

Some 250 people have been automatically migrated to the social security system since the doubling of inspections implemented by the Vice-Ministry of Labor since August of last year. In this way, the government seeks to formalize the situation of workers.

This work is being coordinated with the Instituto de Previsión Social (IPS) so that employees will have health insurance and also enter the retirement system.

Today, there are some 280,000 employees outside the social security system, not counting other labor law violations, such as non-payment of overtime, night hours and other items.

For these cases, the Ministry of Labor, Employment and Social Security (MTESS) has an individual conflict mediation department where workers can present their case. Here employers are summoned to reach an agreement and regularize the situation. If an agreement cannot be reached, then audits are carried out and a fine is applied if applicable. The MTESS already has about US$ 8 million in fines to companies in court cases.

For more information about the formalization of employment situations, please do not hesitate to contact Walter David Vera (wvera@vouga.com.py) and Daniela Leguizamon (dleguizamon@vouga.com.py).

Source: Paraguayan Information Agency