Labor Court approves, during recess, resumption of automatic increase for judges – 01/18/2024 – Market

In the midst of the Judiciary’s recess, the CSJT (Superior Council of Labor Justice) approved in an extraordinary session the resumption of payment for a payment suspended since 2006.

The council is led by the president of the TST (Superior Labor Court), minister Lelio Bentes Corrêa, and composed of other court ministers and presidents of TRTs (Regional Labor Courts).

At the end of the session, on January 11, the council approved, in a vote that lasted two minutes, the resumption of the so-called ATS (Additional for Time of Service). The pendant is better known as a five-year period, a 5% salary increase given automatically every five years.

This benefit was suspended in 2006, but the judges understood that those who could receive it before the suspension have an acquired right to it. In other words, anyone who joined the judiciary until May of that year will be able to earn the bonus.

The request was made to the council by Anamatra (National Association of Labor Justice Magistrates), which asked for payments to be made retroactively.

The rapporteur of the process at the council, minister Delaíde Miranda, voted for the immediate reintroduction of the benefit on the payroll and also granted the benefit to retirees and their pensioners.

It did not determine the implementation of retroactive payments, because they were suspended by the National Justice Inspectorate, but it recognized the magistrates’ right to past funds.

The return of five-year terms was initially approved for federal judges by the career council, at the end of 2022, at the request of Ajufe (Association of Federal Judges). The possibility was endorsed by the CNJ (National Council of Justice).

The initial decision provided for the retroactive payment of the benefit to judges who entered the career until May 2006, with amounts adjusted for inflation.

Minister Luis Felipe Salomão, from the CNJ, decided, however, to suspend the retroactive payment of the benefit. The status of payments for 2006 will still be analyzed by the collegiate plenary.

The TCU (Federal Audit Court) even overturned the resumption of the benefit, but, on December 19 of last year, Minister Dias Toffoli, of the STF (Supreme Federal Court), authorized its payment.

In the TCU’s calculations on the Federal Court, the total value of the expense would be around R$870 million.

This determination by Toffoli made the CSJT take up the fight in the Labor Court.

The vote on the 11th caused irritation among Judiciary civil servants.

“With the determination of immediate payment on the payroll, the decision will financially impact this year’s budget for the Labor Court”, says a note from Fenajufe (National Federation of Workers of the Federal Judiciary and Public Ministry of the Union).

“Even last year, there was no money to advance the payment of the third installment of the 2025 salary recovery for its employees. Fenajufe highlights the evident difficulty faced by the category when competing for the budget with the judiciary”, says the note.

Sought to comment on the Council’s decision, the TST stated in a note that it complied with the terms of what was decided by the Federal Justice Council and “covers female judges who entered the career until 2006, the impact of which is included in the Federal Justice budget Work”.

The report asked why the session was held during recess, but there was no answer.

Also contacted, Anamatra said that “the entity’s position is expressed in the records of the process in question” and that it does not have a calculation of the impacts of the decision.

The five-year period was abolished in the 2003 Social Security reform. An offensive by professional associations of judges and prosecutors, however, has been trying to resume payment of the benefit.

In addition to resuming the ban for judges, the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSD-MG), has been trying since 2022 to approve a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) to boost the salaries of judges and members of the Public Ministry with the benefit.

Such as Sheet showed, last year the Labor Court created another pendant to reward those who accumulate administrative functions, such as directing a forum, being part of a thematic commission or acting as an assistant judge.

It also lowered the criteria for paying a benefit for excess service. With the measure, judges who receive fewer cases will also receive higher pay at the end of the month.