Barroso releases payment of the national nursing floor

Minister Luís Roberto Barroso, of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), released this Monday (15) the payment of the national nursing floor. However, the minister understood that states and municipalities should pay the national nursing floor within the limits of the amounts they receive from the federal government. The minister’s decision was handed down after President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva sanctioned the opening of a special credit of R$ 7.3 billion for the payment of the floor. The measure was published on Friday (12), International Nursing Day. 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). The floor applies to workers in the public and private sectors. In September of last year, Barroso suspended the national nursing salary floor and gave a period of 60 days for public and private entities in the health area to clarify the financial impact. According to the states, the impact on local accounts is BRL 10.5 billion and there are no resources to supplement the payment. In the new decision, the minister said that the resources transferred will not be enough for the states to guarantee the payment of the minimum wage for professionals working in the Unified Health System (SUS). “So in relation to the states, Federal District and municipalities, as well as private entities that serve at least 60% of their patients through the SUS, the mandatory implementation of the national floor only exists within the limit of the resources received through financial assistance provided by the Union for this purpose”, he decided. In the case of professionals in the private hospital network, Barroso understood that, given the risk of layoffs, the minimum wage should also be paid to professionals, but could be collectively negotiated between companies and unions in the category. “By only allowing the value provided for by the national legislator to be supplanted by a prediction in a different sense eventually contained in a collective norm, the law is implemented in favor of the category’s integrity and, at the same time, the risks of dismissals are avoided and closure of beds”, wrote the minister. For professionals working for the federal government, the floor must be paid in full, according to the law creating the measure. Data from the Federal Nursing Council account for more than 2.8 million professionals in the country, including 693,400 nurses, 450,000 nursing assistants and 1.66 million nursing technicians, in addition to about 60,000 midwives.

Agência Brasil