BC strike could affect Copom activities, say officials

Without an agreement with the government, Central Bank employees talk about intensifying the strike and affecting activities linked to Copom (Monetary Policy Committee) and Comef (Financial Stability Committee).

The members of the three representative entities of BC servers met, this Tuesday (5), with Leonardo Sultani, from the People Management Secretariat of the Ministry of Economy, but the discussions did not advance regarding the claim for a salary adjustment of 26.3% and restructuring the careers of analysts and technicians.

According to Sinal (National Union of Central Bank Employees), there was no official proposal from the government. “Our answer will be to maintain and intensify the strike,” he said in a statement. The decision had the support of 90% of the participants of the deliberative assembly held this Tuesday afternoon.

According to the president of Sinal, Fábio Faiad, the intensification of the strike by employees of the monetary authority may affect the preparation of indicators and projections that serve as technical support for decision-making by the BC collegiate, such as the basic interest rate (Selic ), which is the main instrument of economic policy to combat inflation.

The next Copom meeting is scheduled for the 2nd and 3rd of May, while the Comef meeting is scheduled for the 26th of May.

The BC included in the list of essential services for civil servants a suggestion of a concentrated work regime in the area between April 20 and May 4 for the preparation of Copom material. The union, in turn, says that the demand required should not be classified as an essential activity and negotiates its removal with the municipality.

The servers consider that there is a confusion in the understanding of what are essential activities established by law and what are relevant services for the fulfillment of the BC’s mission, so that some items on the list correspond to the second category.

According to the legislation, “in essential services or activities, unions, employers and workers are obliged, by mutual agreement, to guarantee, during the strike, the provision of essential services to meet the unavoidable needs of the community”.

“The urgent needs of the community are those that, if left unattended, put the survival, health or safety of the population in imminent danger”, he adds.

The president of Sinal also says that the intensification of the strike involves “persuasion in some sectors” to increase adherence to the civil servants’ movement, estimated by the union at around 60% so far.

The civil servants’ strike has caused a series of delays in the monetary authority’s routine, especially in the dissemination of indicators, such as the Focus bulletin, economic-financial notes and others.

The interruption of the work of BC employees is part of the national movement of civil servants for salary recomposition after President Jair Bolsonaro (PL) waved to grant raises to federal police officers, federal highway workers and penitentiary agents. The amount available in the Budget to raise the remuneration of civil servants is R$ 1.7 billion.