The salary cap in the civil service is BRL 39,293.32, that is, no employee from all spheres of government (federal, state, district and municipal), from any of the branches (Executive, Legislative and Judiciary), can earn above that value.
In practice, however, a series of bonuses and extra amounts can make payments to so-called elite employees reach R$ 100,000 – the case of judges and prosecutors -, while the average salary in the country is around R$ 2 thousands.
According to a survey carried out in May last year by the Center for Public Leadership (CLP), around 25 thousand civil servants, or 0.23% of the 11 million who work for all public spheres, have salaries above the ceiling.
Each one of these civil servants, the CLP study points out, receives an average of R$ 8,500 above the ceiling per year with these “trinkets”, as the benefits received are called.
Among them are housing assistance, subsidy for private transport or daycare assistance, for example.
“Public employees have a strict ceiling of R$ 39 thousand. However, we have trinkets that make this salary oversized”, says Armando Rovai, professor at Mackenzie.
This difference in values has been the subject of debate in recent years, in a scenario in which the space in the Budget for non-mandatory expenditures by the federal government — which include investments in infrastructure or social programs, for example — is increasingly smaller.
In addition, Brazil has accumulated eight straight years of primary deficit, which means that the Union’s revenues have been lower than expenditures since 2013.
Daniel Duque, a researcher at FGV-IBre, explains that remunerations go above the ceiling because politicians “end up receiving benefits that look like compensation, but, in fact, they are remunerative”. The CLP pointed out that the average remuneration of civil servants above the ceiling is R$ 47,7555.
“The first point of inequality in the public sector is that not all people who work in the civil service receive the elite’s salary,” says Duque.
“Another point is that the amount that exaggerates its gain ends up maintaining an extremely high value, of billions of reais, impacting the public budget”, declares Rovai. “While the mass of employees earns a minimum wage”.
Another factor that generates inequality, for professor at FEA-USP (Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Actuarial at the University of São Paulo) Paulo Feldmann, is that “employees who earn between R$ 4,600 and above ceiling pay the same rate of income tax, [de 27,5%]”.
On the other hand, Daniel Conde de Barros, a specialist in administrative law with a focus on public servants at Martorelli Advogados, sees super salaries differently. Barros emphasizes that “the term civil service is demonized, that is, the image we have is that some professionals in this sector earn a lot, but work little”.
“I believe that the salary itself [da elite do funcionalismo] it does not generate inequality, as these professionals have responsibilities”, says Conde. “So, it ends up that each one receives the amount that matches their position, including the benefits as well.”
But Rovai defends his argument and says: “I don’t think these employees have to earn poorly, but they need to be paid according to the average. The excuse is that they are indemnity values and complements, but these benefits are not equivalent to those of the private sector”.
“It’s not a criticism of a particular personality or even a position. The problem is in the functionalism itself”, explains the professor at Mackenzie.
Congress discusses super wages
A bill pending in Congress intends to review which benefits and extras should be counted in the civil service ceiling.
According to deputy Rubens Bueno (Citizenship – PR), rapporteur of the proposal at the special commission, the savings generated by the changes proposed in the text would reach R$ 10 billion, according to some calculations made by lawmakers.
According to him, the cost of super salaries in public accounts is between R$2.6 billion and R$3 billion per year.
The article had its substitute text approved by the Chamber in July, but it remains paralyzed.
A study commissioned by the Movimento People à Frente and carried out by Datafolha pointed out, in October, that nine out of ten people, or 93% of the population, defend that the salaries of civil servants should not exceed the ceiling. In order to carry out the survey, 2,072 people were interviewed between the 9th and 20th of July.
Reference: CNN Brasil
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