
By The Star Staff
The union Puerto Rican Workers Central (CPT by its initials in Spanish) rejected on Wednesday an executive order giving La Fortaleza Chief of Staff Francisco Domenech unlimited powers to cancel government contracts and fire government workers in tenured positions.
“This order is so subjective that it becomes a dictatorial measure, concentrating the administrative power of all public agencies and corporations in a single person: the Chief of Staff,” CPT President Emilio Nieves Torres said.
In addition to supervising and directing the day-to-day operation of the agencies, Domenech will be able to disallow appointments to career government positions and even reverse agency opinions, according to an executive order (EO) that the governor signed last week.
EO 2025-008 details the responsibilities and powers of Domenech, who also serves as executive director of the Fiscal Agency and Financial Advisory Authority, including the powers to establish any fiscal control measures that he deems necessary, deciding on contracts and purchase orders, and ordering audits.
The EO allows Domenech to disavow appointments and regulate personnel transactions, which, Nieves Torres said, violates human resources regulations and collective bargaining agreements. In addition, he stressed that the measures adversely affect both career and temporary employees.
Nieves Torres also noted that the order gives the chief of staff authority to implement fiscal controls without specific legal basis. “These guidelines clash with existing laws and seek to further politicize recruitment and public administration processes,” he said.
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