Senate should vote today on PEC for health agents with an impact of R$28 billion

The Senate must vote, this Tuesday (30), on the PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) that guarantees special retirement for community health workers. The Ministry of Social Security estimates that the project could cost at least R$28 billion for public coffers.

The text is seen as an issue with great fiscal impact. The text was approved by the Senate's CCJ (Constitution and Justice Committee) on June 10 and is ready to be deliberated in the plenary.

The president of the Senate, Davi Alcolumbre (União-AP), had already signaled the progress of the PEC, after initially resisting discussing the matter. In plenary, the senator declared that he cannot be "the only villain" in the country for stopping the processing of proposals that impact public coffers.

As it is a PEC, the text needs to be voted on in two rounds.

The Ministry of Social Security details an increase in spending of R$3 billion per year, but does not specify the deadline for absorbing these costs.

The PEC determines transition rules for two categories: community health agents and agents to combat endemic diseases. The text also establishes how these agents are hired, financed by the Union and expands the rules to indigenous sanitation agents and indigenous health agents.

The text proposes that these agents will be entitled to retirement at a minimum age of 57 years for women and 60 years for men, as long as they prove 25 years of contribution and effective practice.

The proposal also guarantees that periods of absence to occupy union representation positions are counted towards retirement.

The proposal creates an extraordinary benefit that will be paid by the Union. The benefit aims to complement the amounts paid under the general regime.

The government views the vote on the text in the current context with concern. Palácio do Planalto understands that the approval of the PEC in its current form could compromise the budget for the following years, which would have an impact on federal social programs.

The idea is to try to postpone the vote as long as possible and push the text to next year, finishing voting on the Budget Guidelines Law before considering other important projects.

Senate approves retirement for health agents | WW

Source: CNN