Santa Casa’s resigning deputy ombudsman accuses Labor minister of lying about remuneration – Politics

The resigning deputy ombudsman of Santa Casa de Lisboa Ana Vitória Azevedo accused minister Maria do Rosário Ramalho this Wednesday of “saying things that are not true”, when she stated that the dismissed administration withdrew benefits for itself.

“I know, and this even shocks me, that the Santa Casa Board had no benefit for itself and I would like the minister to explain what that benefit was”, said Ana Vitória Azevedo, during the hearing at the Parliamentary Work Committee, Social Security and Inclusion.

In an interview with RTP, on Tuesday, the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security Maria do Rosário Ramalho stated that the majority of workers at Santa Casa da Misericórdia de Lisboa (SCML) earn the minimum wage and that the managers’ salaries are much higher.

“Those at the Table [da SCML] They were even increased, we were surprised. (…) They benefited themselves”, criticized the minister.

Before the committee’s deputies, and trying to “get into the minister’s head”, the resigning deputy ombudsman admitted that the reasoning made by Maria do Rosário Ramalho was based on “the increase that was made to the status of the public manager”, the responsibility from the Government and not from Santa Casa.

“Santa Casa’s remunerations are directly indexed to the status of the public manager. But what benefit?”, he asked, pointing out that if this was the minister’s reasoning, this is the explanation.

“If the minister is referring to the increase in the status of public managers, I think that is not serious”, he added, classifying as “serious” that the minister understands what would result from indexation as a benefit.

Ana Vitória Azevedo pointed out that the minister “has every right to want to change the administration of Santa Casa”, but stressed that “she does not have the right to say things that are not true and in some way slander the people who are there”.

According to the former director, it is not factual that Ana Jorge’s administration did nothing to restructure the institution’s financial restructuring, pointing out that, despite there being no restructuring plan, “there was work that was being done”.

He also highlighted that, contrary to what was said by the Minister of Labor, in the interview with RTP, that 18 administrators were dismissed, there were 40 people who lost their service commissions, which translated into savings of one million euros.

Regarding the internationalization of social games, Ana Azevedo denied having had any responsibility, pointing out that this was a project that had already been underway since 2019 and that when she joined Santa Casa in 2021 she was responsible for heritage.

Subsequently, with the entry of Ana Jorge as SCML provider, in May 2023, Ana Azevedo becomes deputy provider.

The person responsible, who sent the resignation request to the current minister Maria do Rosário Ramalho on March 28, said she had warned the previous provider Edmundo Martinho on several occasions about the risks of internationalization.

“I was against the non-cautious way in which the project was being implemented”, said the person in charge, pointing out that she conveyed this both to the provider and to the Minister of Labor at the time, Ana Mendes Godinho.

He added that his position had to do with the risks of the market itself, the difficulty in hiring management teams that could ensure effective local management and the scale of investment “hardly compatible” with the “complex financial situation of Santa Casa, which was already alive at the time.”