Environmental servants deny the proposal and remain paralyzed – 04/11/2024 – Daily life

Environmental employees, paralyzed since the beginning of the year, remain unhappy with the government of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (PT), even after a new salary adjustment proposal made by the MGI (Ministry of Innovation Management).

This Wednesday (10), the category finished the preliminary analysis of the Executive’s new proposal, and concluded that it has made progress, but does not meet the demands presented and harms new entrants into the environmental career.

The employees calculate that there was a reduction of up to 6% in the salaries of new hires, that career distortions were not corrected and that the remuneration was not equated to the ANA (National Water Agency) parameters, as expected.

They recognize, however, that there has been progress in relation to the previous proposal, from February this year, especially the adjustment for those already hired. Even so, they understand that this is below expectations.

The government is talking about a general adjustment of 20% to 30% of salaries and the expectation of members was that this proposal would be well received by the category — which did not happen.

The category disputes the percentage presented by the MGI and calculates that it is, in fact, 19% to 26%, in addition to the reduction for new workers.

Internally, servers appear to be dissatisfied and frustrated. Sectoral assemblies will be held in the coming weeks, but there is no expectation that the strike will be interrupted, and the possibility of a strike remains on the agenda.

“[A nova proposição] brought some improvements, some issues in relation to the previous proposal that the government had presented on February 16th, but far below the demands that the category presented in October 2023”, says Cleberson Zavaski, president of Ascema Nacional, the civil servants’ association environmental.

The demand for the appreciation of professionals from the Ministry of the Environment, Ibama (Brazilian Institute of the Environment and Renewable Natural Resources) and ICMBio (Chico Mendes Institute for Biodiversity Conservation) has been going on since 2023.

The civil servants’ argument is that their career was scrapped and harassed during the government of former president Jair Bolsonaro (PL), and even so it was essential to resist the dismantling of environmental policy, and this should be valued.

Discontent with the Lula government, however, increased after the PT administration provided readjustments, for example, for the PRF (Federal Highway Police), a category identified with Bolsonarism.

Since the beginning of January this year, environmental employees have started to reduce and even stop their field activities, maintaining only office work in many locations.

The result was a reduction in the number of infraction notices and fines applied, in addition to the negative impact on environmental licensing analyses, which affects, for example, the automotive sector.

The new proposal from the Ministry of Management brings a staggered plan for salary adjustments.

According to Ascema’s calculations, however, the escalation reduces the entry salary of new civil servants by up to 6% in relation to the amount paid to current civil servants, which should increase career evasion. Comparing the current annual adjustment plan with the proposal, the category states that new workers will surpass today’s salary level only after 16 years.

The government’s proposal brings adjustments of 20% to 30% for current employees — the percentage varies according, for example, to position, function and level.

It also increases the percentage of basic salary in relation to total remuneration (that is, fixed payment, not subject to variables), creates more staggered career levels and new bonuses, by qualification and by region of activity.

Ascema recognizes that progress has been made on this point, but assesses that the new career structure is insufficient to respond to the demand for equality with ANA remunerations.

“Not with all these tricks does the proposal reach the final salary for a career as a specialist in water resources regulation [da ANA]”, concludes the association, in its calculations.

“The proposal, which initially generated the expectation of resolving disputes in relation to salaries and career structure, was received with great dissatisfaction by the category”, said the entity, in a statement.

The association also states that the increase in the proportion of basic salary compared to variable payments still left something to be desired and that the demand to reduce the difference in remuneration between intermediate and higher level employees was not met — currently at 43%.

Furthermore, he complains that the risk bonus, required for those who work, for example, in conflict areas, was not created.

“Although there is recognition that [a proposta] represented an advance compared to previous ones, it was clear that none of the demands of environmental servants were fully met”, states Ascema.