Bolsonaro sanctions nursing salary floor of R$ 4,750, but vetoes annual readjustment

President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) sanctioned this Thursday (4), in a ceremony at Palácio do Planalto, the law that establishes a national salary floor for nurses, technicians and nursing assistants and midwives.

With this, the minimum remuneration of R$ 4,750 for nurses is fixed. Nursing technicians must receive 70% of this amount, and nursing assistants and midwives, 50%.

The proposal was approved last month by Congress and has gained strength in recent years due to the work of these professionals during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Minister Marcelo Queiroga (Health) confirmed that the president vetoed the section that provided for the annual adjustment for inflation, measured by the INPC (National Consumer Price Index), of the minimum amount to be paid to these categories.

“Unfortunately, the president had to veto article 15D, in which there are problems of inconsistency, but the core of the project was preserved and nursing in Brazil is very happy,” he said.

The Chief Executive did not speak, but was praised by the audience of nurses. They chanted “nursing won” after the ceremony.

The government has not yet published an extra Official Gazette on the subject.

According to government officials, a measure is not necessary to compensate for the increase in expenses with the creation of the floor for nurses.

The project would not create a permanent expense for the Union, as professionals are hired as if they were outsourced or they already receive above the created floor.

Therefore, the government would not need to create new revenue or cut spending to offset the project sanction.

Bolsonaro had already indicated that he would sanction the project. To allies in private conversations, he has said that it would be a shot in the foot to veto the matter on the eve of the election.

Mayors and governors, however, pressed against the measure. This is because most professionals in the area are linked to states and municipalities and the financial impact of the institution of the floor will fall mainly on them.

The president of the CNM (National Confederation of Municipalities), Paulo Zukowski, even had a meeting with Bolsonaro in early July to ask for support for a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) that prohibits the federal government from creating new expenses for other entities. of the federation.

According to Zukowski, the Chief Executive has pledged to support the proposal in parliament. However, this did not cover the nursing floor, which had already been approved at the time.

To pass the floor, Congress had to vote on two projects. One of them is a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) whose objective was to make it clear that a bill would deal with the salary floor for the category.
This is because, without the PEC, there was a risk of the project being legally questioned, since it could give rise to the interpretation that one Power advances over the prerogatives of another by proposing a salary value for the floor.

The Minister of the Civil House, Ciro Nogueira, spoke during the ceremony and said that Bolsonaro gave him the mission to enable the sanction of the matter “in any way”.