Ministry of Work, Employment, and Social Security


The Ministry of Work, Employment, and Social Security is a Bolivian government ministry which oversees labor relations, pensions and social security programs. Since 2 June 2011, it has been headed by Minister Daniel Santalla Torres, a politician and former factory union leader. He succeeded Félix Rojas in the position.
The Ministry was founded by the government of Germán Busch during his first brief appearance as president. Indeed it was formed on the same day as the bloodless military coup that brought him to power. Under the "military socialism" of Presidents Busch and David Toro, the Labor Ministry articulated a labor code and propelled mass unionization of Bolivian workers. The appointment of Waldo Álvarez, a printing worker and Secretary General of the Federación Obrera de Trabajadores, to be the first Minister of Labor began a long tradition of trade unionists leading the Ministry. The ministry was known as the Ministry of Labor, Social Security, and Health until the creation of a Public Health Ministry in 1938.
The Ministry's organizational structure was last set by Chapter XV of Supreme Decree 29894, issued by President Evo Morales on 7 February 2009. Its organizational hierarchy is as follows:
The General Directorate of Social Security Policy is charged with unifying Bolivia's retirement and social security systems into a single unified system.