Lira says she doesn’t see space for server readjustment in PEC dos Precatórios

The president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), said on Thursday (18) he did not see space in the text of the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) of the Precatório approved by the deputies to grant salary increases to federal employees, as he stated President Jair Bolsonaro.

At the end of a meeting of party leaders held on Thursday, the deputy said he did not see this budgetary slack. “I absolutely did not see this space, I do not know this space, the numbers that were presented by the Economy to the Chamber of Deputies did not predict this increase,” he stated.

“I think that cost portfolio that was widely publicized to the press, [que] it can be honored so that we have the trustworthiness of what was agreed in the plenary discussions to be kept in the PEC vote”, he continued. “I don’t remember at least, unless I’m wrong, that there is some kind of space to give employees an increase in that proportion of the budget space opening.”

In Manama, capital of Bahrain, where he participated in a business event, Bolsonaro stated that he intended to use part of the fiscal slack generated by the eventual approval of the PEC to grant the adjustment.

“Inflation reached double digits. [ministro da Economia] Paulo Guedes, and in passing the PEC dos Precatórios, there has to be a little space to make some adjustments. not what they [servidores] they deserve it, but it’s what we can give,” he said.

“Because of inflation, the servers have been without adjustment for two years. With the issue of the pandemic, this [aumento] it is even justified, because many people lost their jobs or even had their salary reduced.”

Despite the president’s statements, technicians from the Ministry of Economy warn that the measure will require cutting expenses in other areas and point out a series of legal obstacles that should limit this salary increase.

On Wednesday (17), the secretary for Economic Policy, Adolfo Sachsida, stated that the budgetary space to be generated in 2022 by the PEC dos Precatório to raise civil servants’ salaries will take resources from other public policies.

Lira met earlier with the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), and the rapporteur of the PEC in the Senate, Fernando Bezerra Coelho (MDB-PE). The deputy said that the atmosphere for voting on the proposal in the neighboring House was “very positive.”

“There were many suggestions, as is normal, but I think that some adjustments proposed there may further improve the PEC. And let’s wait for the result. It should be at the CCJ [comissão de Constituição e Justiça] next week and in plenary on the 30th. From here to there, work so that there is a smooth vote and that important points can be preserved,” he said.

He said he expects the House text to be kept at 95%, 96%. “I think the Chamber has already worked a lot this year, has voted on many difficult matters and I hope that this work will not be in the plenary again. But, if it does, we have to be ready to finish voting on this PEC, which is important.”

The president of the Chamber once again defended that the administrative reform is ready to be voted on by the plenary of deputies, but he stressed that this depends on the government’s efforts. “She is ready for the plenary at any time, but she will only come to the plenary when there is more or less convergence of forces to make it possible, without any rush in relation to the discussion in the plenary,” he said.

Lira also commented on the draft resolution to give more transparency to the rapporteur’s amendments and stated that there is a convergence with the Senate on the subject. “A draft resolution common to the two Houses, of the Chamber and Senate, to alter a resolution common to the two Houses, cannot be convergent.”

He stated that Pacheco is holding talks to resolve the issue and said that the alternative is for the rapporteur’s amendments to become discretionary amendments. “Then the federal government will pay whoever it wants, whenever it wants, as much as it wants and according to what it wants, without any kind of inspection of what it wants to inspect,” he said.

“I think that common sense will prevail, we have no reason not to have transparency. What is done today and in 2020 was done in compliance with a law approved in the plenary of the National Congress and in the budget committee. No fuss, calmly , the president of the National Congress will fulfill his role and, next week, I think that we can already have joint, convergent positions, from the two Houses, regarding this issue.”