Bolsonaro confirms that he will not give readjustments to servers, but says he can double food stamps

Four months before the elections, President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) confirmed this Monday (13) that there will be no readjustment for servers this year. He said, however, that the possibility of doubling the value of food aid for all categories is still under study in 2022.

“Unfortunately, there is no readjustment for the server. We are trying now, which has to win electoral legislation, to double, at least, the value of food aid”, he told journalists, in front of the Planalto Palace. He did not, however, detail how much the increment to the benefit would cost.

According to Bolsonaro, there will be no readjustment due to lack of resources in the budget. The government was considering granting an even more generous adjustment to police careers, which are part of its base of supporters.

The president himself said he was discussing this possibility with the Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, with whom he had a meeting this Monday, which was off the agenda.​

THE Sheet anticipated, in February, that the government was studying raising the food stamp as an alternative to the readjustment.

The Executive currently pays a monthly meal allowance of R$458 to all active civil servants, except for those who are on leave for long-term training or assignment to international organizations.

The pre-school allowance, paid to active employees with children up to six years old, has a value of up to R$321 per month.

The values ​​had the last adjustment in 2016 and are well below what is paid by the other Powers.

The government had been studying the possibility of granting a 5% readjustment for all civil servants, and an even higher percentage for police careers—Policia Rodoviária Federal and Depen.

To journalists, Bolsonaro said that the government had the resources to restructure these careers, but that it did not do so because of a “scolding” from other servers. Police officers are considered voters of the president, in the Planalto.

Bolsonaro is in second place in the voting intention polls, behind former president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT). He had been advised against by allies to grant the most generous raise to the police precisely so as not to displease other public servants.

“I was scolded by other servants from other sectors, the public sector [falando] ‘ah, I’ll threaten to stop’. Several representatives. So I couldn’t go on with the [reestruturação] from the Federal Highway Police, nor from Depen”, he said.

Elite categories of the civil service had been threatening strikes, either to get themselves included in the increase, or because they considered the 5% to be insufficient.

“You can imagine the Central Bank stopping there, stopping the CGU, stopping the Revenue, stopping the sanitary inspectors. Now, if someone points out where I can use resources, I’ll give an adjustment now, in 20, 30, 40% for everyone. For next year it is possible, we are preparing”, he continued.

The retreat occurs after back and forth in studies to increase all or just some categories. Last week, he had already signaled the possibility of no one having a readjustment, but still without categorically stating the decision.

“Am sorry, [mas] From what everything indicates, it will not be possible to give any readjustment to the server this year”, said Bolsonaro in an interview with SBT.

Last week, the federal government blocked the execution of R$ 8.7 billion of the 2022 Budget in order not to breach the spending ceiling, which prevents federal spending from growing above inflation.

The measure includes the amount of R$ 1.7 billion originally intended for the readjustment of civil servants – reinforcing the difficulty of granting increases to civil servants in the face of fiscal limitations.

The cut mainly affects the ministries of Science, Education and Health.