Congress enacts PEC that defines nursing floor funding

The National Congress enacted, this Thursday (22), the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of Nursing, which directs resources for the payment of the minimum salary for the category.

The proposal had the voting concluded on Tuesday (20) by the Senate, a week after the House approved the project.

The text defines that the nursing floor will be funded by the financial surplus of public funds and the Social Fund. The resources will be used to pay the new salaries in the public sector, in philanthropic entities and service providers that have a minimum of 60% of care for SUS patients (Sistema Único de Saúde).

The minimum amount approved by Congress was R$4,750 for nurses, R$3,325 for nursing technicians and R$2,375 for nursing assistants and midwives.

During the enactment ceremony, Senate President Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG) highlighted that the amendment to the Constitution is a recognition by the National Congress of the work of nurses during the pandemic.

“Among these professionals, one category stood out [na pandemia]: nursing professionals. Exposed to daily and incessant contact with the transmission vectors of Covid, professionals answered the call of their vocations and did not hesitate to carry out their duties under the most adverse conditions”, he said.

The national nursing floor was approved by Congress in August. The original proposal, however, did not foresee the financial impact of the measure for states, municipalities and hospitals, nor how the cost would be covered.

Without the details, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, of the STF (Federal Supreme Court), decided in September to suspend the law of the national nursing floor. The decision took place in an action by the National Confederation of Health, Hospitals, Establishments and Services.

The suspension was confirmed by the plenary of the STF, by 7 votes to 4.

The Supreme Court’s decision caused uneasiness at the top of Congress, which saw the decision as interference by the Judiciary.

In September, after Barroso’s decision, the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), said he disagreed with the suspension of the national floor.

“I respect judicial decisions, but I do not agree with the merits in relation to the minimum wage for nurses. These are professionals who are entitled to the minimum wage and can count on me to continue the fight to maintain what was decided in plenary”, he said, in a published message. on the social networks.

In addition to the Nursing PEC, the National Congress also enacted this Thursday another amendment to the Constitution that prohibits, by law, the creation of new financial charges to the Union, states and municipalities without forecasting funding sources.