CNM criticizes readjustment and defends that mayors do not pay raises to teachers

The National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM) criticized this Tuesday (17) the readjustment of the teachers’ salary floor determined by the Ministry of Education (MEC). The organization’s president, Paulo Ziulkoski, defended that city halls ignore the measure and do not pay the increase. It is the second consecutive year that the CNM guides mayors in this way, reported the g1 portal.

This Monday (16), the Minister of Education, Camilo Santana, informed that the national minimum wage for teaching will rise from R$ 3,845.63 to R$ 4,420.55 in 2023. The new value corresponds to an increase of 14.95% in amount paid to basic education teachers. The readjustment determination is made by the federal government and must be complied with by city halls and state governments.

Ziulkoski argued that there is no legal basis for carrying out the readjustment, since the correction by the floor law, from 2008, would be linked to the old Fundeb, revoked in 2020. According to the floor law, the readjustment must be granted annually in the month of January. However, the CNM considers that, with the new Fundeb in force, the update of the base salary has no legal basis to be complied with.

“Our understanding, and that of the AGU itself, is that the law was revoked. The criterion for readjusting the floor has no legal effect and legal uncertainty persists due to the legislative vacuum in defining the new readjustment criterion,” he said.

According to CNM estimates, the correction should cost municipalities BRL 19.4 billion annually. The entity considers that the readjustment should follow the accumulated 2022 of the National Consumer Price Index (INPC), which added 5.93%.