“Aportes” are amounts that are automatically deducted from an employee’s salary to go towards his government-mandated social security payments and “contribuciones” are additional amounts that the employer must pay, on top of the employee’s payments, to contribute towards the employee’s social security fund. Taken together, these are the “cargas laborales” — the labor duties. The “aportes” are usually about 17% of the gross salary, and the “contribuciones” are usually about 23%.