Título VI

Public servants in services by Opposition enjoy the rights established in the Constitution, in the text of this law and in addition the following:

1.To not be removed from their positions, unless they incur the duly proven causes for dismissal provided for in this law;

2.To enjoy an annual period of paid annual leave of twenty working days, after each year of continuous services.

Annual leave is not cumulative; it must be enjoyed in continuous periods and is not compensable in money, except where the right has been acquired and has not been enjoyed upon cessation of the employment relationship for any cause;

3.Thirty days [of annual leave] to public servants exposed to risks causing occupational diseases, which shall be enumerated for that purpose in the respective regulation;

4.To leave with or without receipt of salary, for illness, pregnancy, studies, training and other causes, in accordance with the respective regulation;

5.To be informed of the periodic evaluations of their services;

6.To receive in the first fortnight of the month of December of each year a year-end bonus in cash, which shall be settled in accordance with the law and the respective regulations;

7.To receive compensation for suppression of the position or unjustified direct or indirect dismissal, equivalent to one month of wage for each year of continuous services and if the services do not reach one year, to the proportional part for the time worked. Its amount must be calculated according to the average of the salaries earned during the last six months, from the date of suppression of the position. This right shall in no case exceed five salaries.

Payment of the compensation shall be made in successive monthly payments, from the suppression of the position and until completing the corresponding amount. It is understood that if by reason of the preferential right contemplated in Article 46 of this law, the dismissed public servant re-enters public service with a wage equal to or greater than that previously earned, payment of the compensation shall be suspended from the date of taking of possession of the new office. If the wage is lower, payment of the compensation shall continue for the term necessary to cover the difference in the number of months to which there is a right to compensation.

Public servants who may qualify for a pension or retirement are excluded from this right, but they shall enjoy the said compensation until the corresponding pension or retirement order is issued. The entities in charge of such proceedings remain under the obligation to resolve them within a maximum term of four months;

8.To enjoy the regime of retirements, pensions and montepíos, in accordance with the respective law;

9.To receive a family subsidy when fiscal conditions permit in accordance with the respective law;

10.To promotion to a position of higher rank and/or salary, through verification of efficiency and merits, in accordance with the norms of this law;

11.To a just wage that permits a decorous existence, according to the functions performed and the merits of personal activity; and,

12.Right to compulsory rest of thirty days before childbirth and forty-five days after, with receipt of wage.

The public servants of the Service without Opposition shall be covered by the preceding article, with the exception of those provided for in subsections 7 and 10, as well as matters relating to appointment to and removal from the position or employment.

Public servants have the right to freely associate for professional, cooperative, mutual, social or cultural purposes. Associations formed by public servants may not participate in political activities. The strike by public servants is prohibited.

In addition to those determined by laws and regulations, the duties of public servants are:

1.To swear, abide by and defend the Constitution of the Republic;

2.To comply with and ensure compliance with the present law and its regulations;

3.To obey the orders and instructions imparted to them by their hierarchical superiors, in accordance with the law, complying with and performing efficiently the obligations inherent to their positions and, where applicable, to answer for abuse of authority and for the execution of the orders they may issue, without being exempt from the liability corresponding to them for the actions of their subordinates;

4.To maintain discretion, even after having ceased in the exercise of their positions, in those matters which by their nature or by virtue of laws, regulations or special instructions require confidentiality;

5.To observe dignity and respect in the performance of their positions toward the public, supervisors, fellow workers and subordinates, to care for their personal appearance and to process with promptness, efficiency and impartiality the matters within their jurisdiction;

6.To avoid, within and outside of service, the commission of acts contrary to the law, morals and good customs, which affect the prestige of the public administration;

7.To attend their work punctually;

8.To act with loyalty in the performance of their functions;

9.To contribute their initiative and interest for the benefit of the dependency in which they serve and of the public administration in general;

10.To attend to the requirements and to submit the documents and information that the Board or the National Civil Service Office requests from them, for the purposes of this law.

In addition to those provided for in this law and in other applicable laws, the following are general prohibitions for public servants:

1.Engaging in discrimination on grounds of a political, social, religious, racial or sexual nature that harms or favors public servants or applicants for entry into the Civil Service;

2.No public official or employee shall use his official authority to oblige or to permit his subordinates to be obliged to engage in political activities within or outside their function as public servants, or to perform any other activity in favor of or against any political party.

Public servants are especially prohibited from:

1.Soliciting or receiving gifts, presents or rewards from their subordinates or from private individuals and soliciting, giving or receiving gifts from their superiors or from private individuals, in order to perform, refrain from performing or perform with greater diligence or delay any act inherent in or related to their functions;

2.Performing any of the acts described in the preceding paragraph in order to obtain appointment, salary increase, promotion or other similar advantage;

3.Soliciting or collecting, directly or indirectly, contributions, subscriptions or dues from other public servants, except for the highly qualified exceptions established by the regulations;

4.Engaging in activities or conducting propaganda of a political nature during and at the workplace;

5.Taking into account the political affiliation of citizens in attending to their matters, favoring or discriminating against them;

6.Directly or indirectly restricting liberty of suffrage; and,

7.No person may hold more than one remunerated public employment or office, with the exception of those who provide services in teaching centers or assistance institutions and provided that the schedules are compatible.