Union centrals claim 15.42% readjustment in the regional floor

The labor union centers of Rio Grande do Sul met with the state government this Thursday morning (27) to discuss the regional minimum wage. The base date for the readjustment of the state floor was in February. Unions claim replacement of 15.42%, arguing losses with inflation and difference to the minimum of the other states in the South of the Country.

This was the first meeting between the centrals and the Executive, represented by Secretary Gilmar Sossella (PDT, Work and Professional Development) and Deputy Bruno Silveira (Planning, Governance and Management), on the subject.

In addition to the readjustment percentage, the unions also ask for the inclusion of new categories, not yet contemplated, with the creation of new ranges; change of ranges of categories that present a delay in the current range; and the regional floor in the State Constitution.

A document with these claims was delivered to the secretaries. It presents a study by the Inter-Union Department of Statistics and Socioeconomic Studies (Dieese) on the gap in the regional floor in relation to other states in the South Region.

The department points out that Santa Catarina and Paraná readjusted the regional minimum wages between 2019 and 2023, cumulatively, by 31.35% and 32.46%, respectively. Rio Grande do Sul, with the readjustment of December 2022, accumulates a percentage of 16.72% in the same period.

Today, the minimum wage in Rio Grande do Sul is in the range of BRL 1,443.94, while in Santa Catarina it is BRL 1,521.00 (+ 5.34%) and in Paraná it is BRL 1,731.02 (+ 19.88%).

With a readjustment of 15.42%, the regional minimum for bracket I would be set at around BRL 1,666.56, while in bracket V, the highest, the floor would be BRL 2,111.99.

“The regional minimum reaches more than R$ 1.5 million from Rio Grande do Sul, so the economic impact is great. The Gaucho government has implemented a policy of devaluing the minimum, not to mention extinction. When it was created, (the floor) was worth 1.28 (national) minimum wage. Today, it is worth 1.11 minimum wage. With the readjustment that will take place in May, it will be below 1.1 minimum wage”, criticizes the president of the Central dos Trabalhadores e Trabalhadores do Brasil (CTB-RS), Guiomar Vidor.

“We want it to, at the very least, approach the levels of Santa Catarina and Paraná, considering that their economic reality is very similar. And we request that the government has a policy of permanent openness to build a negotiating table, which is not happening” , said the president of the Central Única dos Trabalhadores (CUT-RS), Amarildo Cenci.

The secretaries made themselves available to keep the dialogue open. “They asked that we could arbitrate between what they asked and what the employers presented. It is a debate that is starting and we want to dialogue with the other categories. We are committed to permanently dialogue until we find something that includes both the employer category and, especially, that of workers”, said the head of the Labor Ministry, Gilmar Sossella.

“The regional floor also serves for categories that are not unionized, that do not have an entity that fights so hard for recognition”, he added.

The employer class is historically against the state minimum wage. The entities understand that the institution of a floor different from the national practice hinders the development of the State and burdens companies and industries.

Regardless of this dispute, the readjustment percentage to be granted depends on the organization of Rio Grande do Sul’s finances. “Faced with the numbers that are worked on by our department of economics and statistics, we will see what is possible to meet in the face of the whole scenario. Of course, we have some fiscal tightening guidelines that we always cherish. In the not very recent past, the State delayed wages. But given what is possible, always with dialogue, we see what is possible to meet”, said Bruno Silveira, Deputy Secretary of Planning.