The Social Security Institute (IPS) pays between G. 5.6 million and G. 9.5 million per month for each outsourced cleaning worker at its facilities, but employees report receiving less than the current legal minimum wage of G. 2,899,048. The complaints were filed with the National Directorate of Public Procurement (DNCP) and point to the Hospiclean Consortium as the main target of the irregularities.
The outsourcing contract, signed in November 2024 during Jorge Brítez's administration and the government of Santiago Peña, had a total value of G. 126.971 million (approximately US$ 19.5 million) and benefited four companies: Consorcio 2C (Martín Agustín Gadea), Consorcio C y C (Ladislao Rubén Afara), Consorcio Hospiclean (José Manuel González/Mariela Molas), and Mimbi SA (José Manuel González). The Hospiclean Consortium was awarded Lot 2, corresponding to G. 75.847 million — 60% of the total tender — and declared a cost of up to G. 9,548,492 per month for each employee at the Central Hospital.
The difference between the amount declared per worker and the legal minimum wage reaches G. 6,649,444 per employee, with no apparent justification. By comparison, Consorcio 2C, responsible for the Ingavi Hospital of Surgical Specialties (Lot 3), bills G. 7.75 million per worker — nearly G. 2 million less than what Hospiclean charges.
The complaints filed with the DNCP state that the Hospiclean Consortium pays "poverty-level" wages to workers but declares much higher amounts to the IPS Employer-Employee Contribution Directorate (AOP) to simulate legality. "The Hospiclean Consortium, knowing that it does not pay the current legal minimum wage to its workers (...) fails to submit the documentation required in the tender terms to prove compliance with payment," the document states.
In addition to the labor complaints, there are allegations that the company uses diluted and relabeled chemical products, putting the biosafety of patients in intensive care units and surgical centers at risk. The IPS stated that it carried out an on-site inspection of the firm's warehouses and concluded that everything was in order, although the inspection took place only one day after the complaint surfaced.
The original contract, with an expected term of 18 months, was set to expire on May 7 of this year, but the company continues to provide services to the IPS, currently under the presidency of Isaías Fretes. There are no public details about the extension. In light of the complaints, the institution stated only that it would forward the records to the AOP for verification, without taking more decisive action.