Supreme Court resumes judgment on nursing wage floor

The Federal Supreme Court (STF) resumed this Friday (23) the judgment on the validity of payment of the national wage floor for nursing professionals. In May, the rapporteur of the process, Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, established rules for the payment of the floor to professionals working in the health system of states and municipalities within the limits of the amounts received by the federal government.

Now, the other ministers of the Court judge whether to endorse Barroso’s decision. The analysis takes place in the virtual plenary and runs until June 30, informed Agência Brasil. The judgment is being resumed after two requests for review in the face of disagreements presented by the ministers in relation to the operationalization of the payment.

The new floor for nurses hired under the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT) regime is BRL 4,750, as defined by Law nº 14,434. Nursing technicians receive at least 70% of this amount (R$ 3,325) and nursing assistants and midwives, 50% (R$ 2,375). By law, the floor applies to workers in the public and private sectors.

So far, there is no definition on the judgment scoreboard. Barroso and Gilmar Mendes manifested themselves to maintain the conditions of the decision that released the floor. Ministers Dias Toffoli and Alexandre de Moraes disagreed with regard to payment for CLT professionals. Minister Edson Fachin determined the payment for all public and private work contracts.

Toffoli opened a new path of understanding to define that, in the case of CLT professionals, the payment of the floor must occur according to collective bargaining of the category in the region of the country in which the professional works, and the “negotiated over the legislated” must prevail.

In addition, Toffoli also maintains the conditions suggested by the other ministers. For him, the national floor must be paid according to the law for professionals who are public servants of the Union, municipalities and federal public foundations. The floor is also valid for public servants of states and municipalities and the Federal District, in addition to nurses hired by private entities who care for 60% of patients from the SUS.