Server unions will ask Bolsonaro for readjustment of up to 28% on the day of acts

Server entities that will protest this Tuesday (18) for a salary increase will ask for a readjustment of up to 28.15% from the Jair Bolsonaro (PL) government. The movement gained strength after the president promised funds only for police officers.

The percentage is sought by representatives of the functionalism elite, and there is no consensus among the other categories.

At each percentage point, according to an estimate by the team of Minister Paulo Guedes (Economy), the cost to the public coffers of an increase is R$ 3 billion. The amount claimed, if hypothetically obtained, would be BRL 84.45 billion. The 2022 Budget foresees only R$ 1.7 billion.

After this Tuesday’s mobilization, which has an alert character and is considered crucial to assess the government’s response and the next steps that may include a strike, the entities will wait for a signal from the Executive. If nothing changes until the beginning of February, the movement should intensify.

This Tuesday, the entities say they expect good adherence to the acts, but say that the movement may be limited by factors such as the growth in cases of Covid-19, due to the ômicron, and the vacation period.

​The groups are already talking about new mobilizations for February 2nd — when work begins again in the National Congress and the STF (Supreme Federal Court).

For the time being, leaders said that the impact on the population should be minimal and that, although adherence may be modest, this will only be a first pressure move. According to them, the mobilization will continue regardless of the strength shown in the streets — including the possibility of a strike.

The president of Fonacate (Permanent National Forum for Typical State Careers), Rudinei Marques, said that the initial forecast was that a thousand people would attend the acts in Brasília. However, the high transmission rate of Covid-19 in the Federal District may inspire greater caution, reducing adherence.

The demonstrations are scheduled for 10 am in front of the Central Bank headquarters and at 2 pm in front of the Ministry of Economy. Fonacate expects participation from at least 29 categories, according to a survey updated on Monday night (17).

“In terms of the loss of service to the public, [o impacto] should be minimal for now,” said Marques. “These things take longer to impact the population. The mobilization has to take shape, there has to be adhesion and affect key areas”, he said.

Marques said that Fonacate will seek 28.15%, a percentage that represents the accumulated IPCA from January 2017 to December. Most careers are without increases in this period, according to the entity. Other leaders, however, defend lower percentages.

David Lobão, general coordinator of Sinasefe (National Union of Federal Servants of Basic, Professional and Technological Education), has been seeking replacement since the beginning of the Bolsonaro government (2019).

According to him, Fonasefe (Forum of National Entities of Federal Public Servants, of which Sinasefe is a part), will file a request for a 19.99% readjustment for all servers — which, in his accounts, corresponds to the inflation lag during the Bolsonaro government.

Despite the high rate, Lobão stated that many categories — such as teachers — are on vacation and that this will make the movement largely formed by the unions themselves. “It may not be felt as a real stoppage. We are clear that it is not a mass demonstration yet,” said Lobão.

Other percentages are mentioned among managers. The president of Sindilegis (which represents the servers of the Federal Legislative Power and the Federal Audit Court), Alison Souza, said that the servers do not want “fiscal mess”.

“When the president said he was going to give the police a raise, he ended up taking the pin out of the grenade,” he said. According to him, a readjustment of 3% and 5% is necessary.

Souza criticized the government’s argument that it has no money, while at the same time earmarking R$16.5 billion for rapporteur amendments — an instrument used by allied congressmen to irrigate electoral strongholds.

“It is a first stage of stoppage”, said Fábio Faiad, president of Sinal (National Union of Central Bank Employees).

“Our expectation is very good, we believe that these people will adhere strongly. The servers are seeing that this discussion is very bad on the part of the government, intransigent, arrogant”, he said.

In BC, the expectation is that at least 50% of the servers participate in the acts. The protest is considered by the union as a kind of warning to the government.

According to Faiad, public service should be restricted, and systems may become unstable throughout this Tuesday.

According to the entity, the adhesion of Central Bank servers may lead to the interruption of service and the distribution of paper money. There may also be an impact on the provision of information to the financial system and activities to maintain access to banks and information systems. Activities considered essential, in turn, will be maintained.

The BC civil servants union is one of the most active in the mobilization and stated that the adhesion to the lists for the delivery of commission positions and commitment not to assume vacant posts is already close to 2,000 civil servants.

There are also the other 2,500 commission-free servers that are being invited to join the list.

In addition to readjustments, unions have taken the opportunity to present other demands. In the case of BC servers, they also ask for the restructuring of the careers of analysts and technicians (without financial impact).

At the Federal Revenue, the first union to mobilize after signaling a readjustment only for police officers, auditors protest against the lack of regulation of the efficiency bonus for the category and against the cut of resources for the functioning of the Revenue in 2022.

Administrative activities and inspection programs at customs posts were also reduced by protests from civil servants, who established the so-called standard operation. In cities like Foz do Iguaçu (PR) queues of trucks are being registered.

The mobilization was initially convened by Fonacate, which brings together groups with strong lobbying power — such as tax auditors from the Internal Revenue Service, Central Bank employees, diplomats, among others.

The movement received support from Fonasefe, which represents a wider range of careers, including those with lower salaries.

Guedes is against granting generalized readjustments. However, he gave in to Bolsonaro when he asked Congress to reserve funds in the 2022 Budget to serve the federal police.