UPTA suspects an increase in false self-employment in the science, health and education sectors

The Union of Professionals and the Self-Employed (UPTA) on Monday expressed doubts about the increase in pseudo-self-employment in the science, health and education sectors.

In a statement, UPTA highlighted the increase in workers in the scientific sector, which reaches 325,000 active workers. health care, with 135,908; and education by 101,000. It adds that in 2020, there were 508,304 professionals among the three sectors, which grew by 53,604 workers, reaching 561,908 workers in 2023.

Thus, UPTA suspects that this increase in the number of workers is due to the false recruitment of self-employed workers. “We believe that behind these data there is a tremendous growth of pseudo-self-employed workers, health clinics and companies owning private hospitals that employ freelancers instead of employed workers,” noted UPTA President Eduardo Abad.

To avoid these bogus freelancers, UPTA proposes to cross-reference data, using the tax agency's tax forms, between freelancers who invoice almost exclusively the companies they provide services to.

For UPTA, this is a “double fraud” on Social Security by companies that fraudulently carry out these practices, which benefit from the flat rate for new self-employed workers and avoid the social contributions they would have to make if they hired workers. …employees, apart from “ignoring” the rest of the labor and social rights that these professionals would have recognized if regular legal employment relations had been formalized.