Nursing: judgment on salary floor of the category will be resumed on Friday (16)

The Federal Supreme Court will resume the trial of the nursing salary floor this Friday (16). The expectation now is that the referendum will be analyzed until the 23rd of June, in case there is no new request for view or highlight. The action takes place after Minister Gilmar Mendes returned the request for a view of the precautionary measure ADI 7222, which assesses the constitutionality of the nursing floor.

The topic entered the virtual plenary session on May 19 and the minister requested a view on the 24th of the same month. In this trial format, votes are deposited on the court’s electronic page, without the need for a face-to-face session or videoconference.

The lawyer specializing in Health Law Rebecca Paranaguá, a partner at Bento Muniz Advocacia, comments on what is expected from this trial. “The expectation of the sector, I will speak especially in relation to private hospitals, is that either there is a change in the understanding of the STF, that we really have to wait because the judgment is still taking place, or that at least the decision of the rapporteur, which is more reasonable, considering that it made it possible to carry out collective negotiations in values ​​​​below the floor”, he explained.

According to the individual decision of Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, which is in force, the remuneration must be made within the limits of the amount transferred by the Union. In private units, the minister foresaw the possibility of collective bargaining, suspending a section of the law that prevented this procedure.

As a way to reduce this financial impact, the expert comments that the government could adopt measures such as payroll exemption. Still on the repercussion of the new floor, now in the health plan sector, Unimed do Brasil stated in a note that “the measures in force so far do not identify permanent sources for funding or compensation for the new remuneration, especially in the private sector, with direct impact on health plan customers”.

Counties

The new salary floor has also caused apprehension to the municipalities. In a meeting on the subject held at the headquarters of the National Confederation of Municipalities (CNM) in Brasília, with the presence of municipal managers from all over the country, the president of the Confederation, Paulo Ziulkoski, expressed that, although they are not against the readjustment of the floor, the requirement that municipalities finance this increase may bring more difficulties to municipal budgets.

“I think everyone has to earn well and nurses have to earn. Now, they have to have money to pay. In this period, with a year and a half left to end the mandate, Brazilian municipalities are already exceeding the spending limit in all areas, with a red account. What can be done? If a floor like this comes into force, this crisis deepens”, he says.

In August last year, former President Jair Bolsonaro sanctioned Law 14,434/2022, which established the national minimum wage for nurses, technicians and nursing assistants and midwives. According to the norm, public or private administration nurses must receive at least R$ 4,750. As for nursing technicians, BRL 3,325, while nursing assistants and midwives, at least BRL 2,375.

Among the proposals defended by the mayors to make the payment viable is the Proposed Amendment to the Constitution (PEC) 25/2022 which, among other points, aims to increase the transfer by 1.5% of the Municipalities Participation Fund (FPM) in the month of March of each year and ensure a permanent source of funding for the nursing floor. The measure would solve the impact of BRL 10.5 billion, just to the Municipalities, with the payment of the floor.