The Senate unanimously approved the bill presented by the Government through the Labor and Social Security Ministry and the Transport and Telecommunications Ministry, to ensure public transport for the population on public election and referendum days. It also authorizes compensation to transportation workers for working on election days by giving them additional Sundays off during the following or previous month. All that remains for this law to come into effect is its publication in the Official Gazette, since the bill was passed by the Chamber of Deputies.
The Labor and Social Security Minister, Jeanette Jara, valued the swift action taken to approve the initiative by members of Congress and highlighted that the approved bill “aims to reconcile two important rights for people: the right to vote and the right of drivers to rest on Sundays”.
She added that “this bill ensures the availability of the entire workforce of public urban and rural transportation workers for the September 4 referendum, and also provides measures for future election and referendum days, to ensure that there are enough workers to keep public transport running efficiently in our country. This considers the importance of the right to vote, and to exercise an informed vote, but it also protects the right of transportation workers to rest on Sundays”.
The Transport and Telecommunications Minister, Juan Carlos Muñoz, indicated that “we are very pleased, because today we have passed a bill that is really important; because we want people to be able to vote and this makes it feasible, not only on the September 4 referendum but also in all future elections”.
The bill
As described in the Government motion to justify the bill that has now been approved, and in accordance with Article 1 of the Constitution, which establishes equal dignity and rights for all people, it is the State’s responsibility to ensure the right of citizens to participate in national life with equal opportunities, through participation in electoral processes and other activities.
The text adds that when more than one election occurs in a given calendar month, the availability of public transportation workers may be insufficient to respond to transportation needs on those days, affecting the availability of bus fleets.
“This bill makes it possible to ensure the availability of workers to perform activities of public interest, particularly those related to public transportation of people during elections or referendums (...) This ensures a greater supply of public transportation on these days, which will facilitate citizens’ access to polling stations and will ensure the exercise of political rights guaranteed by the Constitution”, adds the text.
The bill also indicates that by incorporating days off in compensation, the proposed amendment makes it possible to “adequately balance the right of urban and rural public transportation workers to two Sundays off per month with the State’s duty to ensure equal access to all citizens to participate in national life, by ensuring that everyone can travel to their respective polling stations”.