Nursing workers and political leaders of the segment were mobilized throughout this Wednesday (29), in Brasília (DF), to demand the effectiveness of the category floor. The new salaries for nurses, nursing assistants, technicians and midwives are provided for in Law 14,434/2022, sanctioned in August last year, but have been suspended by the Federal Supreme Court (STF) since September. The agenda is at an impasse related to the cost of the measure, which has repercussions on the public and private sectors of health.
A group of nurses gathered in front of the National Congress to draw the attention of parliamentarians to the issue.
“We have a certain delay on the part of the federal government in the edition of the MP that will regulate the transfer (of the cost) of the salary floor to the municipalities, states, Union, philanthropic hospitals and hospitals that have 60% of their care dedicated to patients of the SUS (Sistema Único de Saúde)”, vents Jorge Henrique, from the National Federation of Nurses (FNE).
The entity complains about the long journey to implement the new floor, which provides for a minimum salary of BRL 4,750 for nurses, 70% of that amount for technicians and 50% for midwives. The proposal became law based on a project that later led to the discussion of other legislative texts to guarantee the financing of the new remunerations.
In December, for example, the Constitutional Amendment Proposal (PEC) 127/22 was approved, which established the transfer of funds from the financial surplus of public funds and the Social Fund to pay for the floor in the public sector, in philanthropic entities and in providers of health services that have at least 60% of the attendances destined to the SUS.
The nursing floor agenda was rejected by the Bolsonaro government, which, over the past few years, has articulated itself against the measure. Afterwards, he ended up sanctioning the new legislation due to popular pressure. With the maintenance of the decision of the STF to suspend the new salaries, granted at the request of the National Confederation of Health, Hospitals and Establishments and Services (CNS), the floor never came into force. The floor has been attacked by interlocutors in the private segment, who allege a lack of fiscal conditions to manage the new expenses.
“We know the opposing interests that exist. There’s a lot of pressure on the other side, which is why we don’t give up applying pressure to ask for speed in issuing the MP”, says Jorge Henrique, stating that the category has been received by the Lula administration since January. Segment leaders were on a series of agendas this week in Brasília, especially this Wednesday (29).
The dialogue advances in the sense of seeking the publication and approval of a provisional measure that will remedy the problem that generated the impasse over funding. “A new meeting was scheduled for April 11 to talk about the adjustments in the MP edition. So, until then, we will continue to pressure the government and will also be on the streets and on social networks demanding that this MP actually be signed”, adds the FNE leader.
The talks in the federal capital also mobilized entities with state action that came to the city to join the chorus for the agenda. This is the case of the Federation of Workers in the Municipal Public Service of the State of Ceará (Fetamce), which participated in the protest and also in a meeting with the Minister of Institutional Relations, Alexandre Padilha.
“What Padilha brought us new is that it will be necessary to vote on a bill to transfer funds to guarantee the financing of the nursing floor, and this PL has to be voted on by Congress. But he also brought the news that there should be a session of Congress on April 14th. The idea would be to try to vote on this PL on April 14 as well,” he told the Brazil in fact the entity’s president, Socorro Pires.
The minister has not yet spoken publicly about this detail and the voting agenda is always defined by the representatives of the Chamber and the Senate, based on a dialogue with leaders of both houses. In another way, an important nod came from the mayor, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), this Wednesday: during an event with mayors in Brasília, the pepista said that he will give priority to three guidelines demanded by the municipalities, among them the floor of the nursing. He mentioned the Proposal for an Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 25/22, which determines a transfer of around R$ 9 billion per year to cover different expenses.
“We are going to promote a broad debate about PEC 25/22 to support expenses that did not yet have budget programming, such as the national base for nurses, and that cannot fall on the back of the weakest, such as philanthropic hospitals or municipalities that live off the federal transfers,” he said.
At the same time, the Lula government has held talks with Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, rapporteur of the floor case in the STF, regarding the drop in the injunction for the new wages to take effect. The return of the law remains without a date to occur, but, behind the scenes in Brasilia, the expectation is that by May the impasse can be resolved.
“We continue, therefore, in this expectation, with the emergence of these new facts that make us hopeful that we can close this issue”, says the president of Fetamce, Socorro Pires.
Editing: Rodrigo Durão Coelho
