Uruguay’s Next Public Holiday Will Give Health Workers a Paid Day Off

A paid non-working holiday will apply this Friday, September 11, to a broad group of private-sector health workers across Uruguay. The date commemorates Health Workers’ Day and Accompanying Services Workers’ Day.

The measure covers employees in salary group 15, including general health services, accompanying services and ambulances used to transport patients without medical assistance. It was established by the Ministry of Labour and Social Security under existing decrees and the decisions of the 2012 Fifth Round of Wage Councils.

Workers who take the day off will receive their usual salary without deductions. Those who must perform operational duties will receive double pay under Article 18 of Law No. 12,590.

For monthly employees who work that day, the payment will consist of their full monthly salary plus one additional day’s pay. That extra amount is calculated by dividing the regular salary by 30.

The next holiday for the wider population will come on Sunday, October 12. It will be an ordinary working holiday commemorating the arrival of Christopher Columbus in the Americas in 1492, a date formerly known as the Discovery of America and increasingly associated with cultural diversity.