Guedes's coronavirus relief package does not reach informal workers, warns Dieese.
Fausto Augusto Júnior, technical director of Dieese, warns that although the actions of the Ministry of Economy are important, they are insufficient, mainly because they do not include informal workers, who number around 40 million people throughout the country.
Current Brazil Network - Economy Minister Paulo Guedes announced this Monday (16) a measurement pack which intends to inject R$ 147,3 billion over the next three months to combat the effects of the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic. According to the technical director of Dieese, Fausto Augusto Júnior, these are important but insufficient actions, mainly because they do not include workers who live in informality, who are already feeling the immediate effects of the loss of income.
According to him, the R$ 4,5 billion allocated to Health is also insufficient. In addition to the informal economy's structure, other complicating factors hindering an adequate response to the crisis are the Spending Cap and the Fiscal Responsibility Law, which prevent the federal government, states, and municipalities from increasing spending to combat the disease.
Among the measures announced by the minister are the early payment of the 13th-month salary for retirees, with the first installment in April and the second in May. In total, this should inject R$ 46 billion into the economy. The early payment of the PIS/Pasep salary bonus in June, with funds that will be transferred to the FGTS (Severance Indemnity Fund), should add another R$ 21,5 billion.
"The payment of the 13th-month salary installments for retirees is being brought forward. Very good. But a large segment of the population doesn't have a pension. The withdrawal of a portion of the FGTS (Severance Indemnity Fund), which is a large savings account for workers in emergencies, is being brought forward. This is positive, but we have almost 40 million workers who don't have INSS (National Social Security Institute) or FGTS, who are in the informal sector," criticized the director of Dieese in an interview with journalist Marilu Cabañas, for [publication name]. Brazil Newspaper, this Tuesday (17).
According to him, it is necessary to take measures to support those workers who sell products or provide services on the streets, and whose activities have been suspended due to isolation measures aimed at containing the spread of the coronavirus. “We have to create alternatives for app-based workers, construction workers, refrigerator repairers. It's not a small number of people. It's a lot of people, and they are already at home without pay. We need measures for this vulnerable population,” Fausto demanded.
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The Bolsa Família program would be one of the alternatives to assist informal workers, the analyst points out. Guedes announced R$ 3,1 billion to reinforce the program, but, according to Fausto, simply releasing funds is insufficient. It is necessary to hire civil servants who can resolve the backlog of people waiting for the benefit, which reaches more than... 1 million people.
According to the director of Dieese, "more needs to be done," launching a package of economic actions aimed at informal workers, with resources and mechanisms linked to social assistance. "How are we going to deal with these people? It's not that they will feel the crisis. They are already immediately losing income for their survival. (...) We have to build a package of measures for the informal sector."