The coalition proposes a 'more economical' solution than abolishing the foundations.

Luís Eduardo Gomes, On the 21 - In a mediation meeting held at the Regional Labor Court of the 4th Region (TRT4), this Thursday (21), the Legal Front in Defense of Foundations presented its counter-proposal to the State in the negotiations for the extinction of the foundations – Foundation of Economics and Statistics (FEE), of the Zoobotanical Foundation (FZB), of the Piratini Foundation (TVE and FM Cultura), of the Science and Technology Foundation (Cientec), of the Foundation for the Development of Human Resources (FDRH) and of Metroplan. The representatives of the workers of the foundations threatened with extinction presented to the government a proposal for an Incentive Dismissal Plan (PDI), which would generate greater savings for public coffers than the proposal of the government of José Ivo Sartori (PMDB), and the maintenance of the employees who so wished and, consequently, of the entities.

According to lawyer Délcio Caye, one of the legal advisors for the Front, the proposal consists of creating two PDIs (Voluntary Dismissal Programs). The first, aimed at civil servants who entered the state service before October 5, 1983, and whose job security is recognized even by the State Attorney General's Office (PGE), would allow them to relinquish their positions and, in exchange, continue to receive from the state, as a supplement to their retirement benefits, 80% of the difference between their salaries and their pension. Caye explains that if a civil servant receives R$ 10 per month and their retirement benefit is equivalent to R$ 5, they would continue to receive R$ 4, equivalent to 80% of the difference between the two amounts.

For those who do not have job security guaranteed by the State, the proposal is that the State pay one month's salary for each year worked in the foundations. That is, someone who worked for 10 years would continue to receive their salary for 10 months. The Front also proposed that employees would have until December 31st to adhere to or not adhere to the plan, and after that, the State would have a deadline to finalize the terminations.

A government proposalThe proposal, presented at a previous meeting, involved the payment of compensation plus a bonus for all non-tenured employees – according to the State's calculations, 611 of the approximately 1,2 workers from all foundations threatened with closure – which could be R$ 6 for everyone or proportional to each employee's salary. Employees with guaranteed tenure would remain with the State and be absorbed into other areas of public administration.

The argument of the Front is that, with the Voluntary Dismissal Program (PDI) for tenured civil servants, the State would have greater savings than if it only dismissed non-tenured employees. Délcio exemplifies this by stating that at Cientec, if the State were to dismiss all non-tenured employees and retain the tenured ones, it would generate savings of 25% of the foundation's payroll – the Front argues that the number of civil servants with guaranteed tenure is greater than that recognized by the State and that the savings at Cientec would be only 2% if the State's proposal prevails. On the other hand, it projects that, with the PDI, it could achieve savings of 71,10% of the payroll, since the expectation is that almost all employees who joined the foundation before 1983 would accept dismissal with the guarantee of receiving the increased benefits, and these employees, having higher salaries, represent the greatest expense for the State.

According to the Front, if the State accepts the counterproposal, it would be possible to maintain the jobs of workers who wish to remain in their positions and keep the foundations operating, guaranteeing greater savings for the State and allowing for restructuring within the entities. Furthermore, it would ensure that no employee would go to court seeking recognition of job security, which could generate costs for the State in the future.

In a statement released after the meeting, however, the state government stressed that it wants to finalize the closures, approved in 2016 by the Legislative Assembly, and dismiss all workers without job security. "Now the state is saying it wants to close the foundations, firing all those without job security; it's no longer about saving money as they said at the beginning," Délcio points out.

The meeting's mediator, Judge João Pedro Silvestrin, argued that the State should analyze the issue, since it could achieve the same savings generated by the extinction of the foundations with the Front's counterproposal – and scheduled a new meeting for October 3rd, at 1:30 PM, also at the TRT4 (Regional Labor Court of the 4th Region).

Courage

Following the meeting regarding the dissolution of the foundations, the Legal Front and the State government also held talks regarding the dissolution of the Companhia Riograndense de Artes Gráficas (Corag). As it is a for-profit public limited company, State legislation prevents its dissolution, leading to a stalemate, since the State argues that it is only discussing layoffs, while the Front, which also represents Corag's workers, argues that layoffs are not possible without collective bargaining.

Délcio explains that the workers' proposal is to keep the company running under employee control, with the State only maintaining and paying for the services it uses. This would allow workers to be paid from the company's profits, according to the lawyer. Another proposal would be to implement a Voluntary Dismissal Program (PDI) and/or restructure the company, incorporating Corag into Procergs, which assumed the function of publishing the State's Official Gazette. "It would be a legal way to have a succession of activities and, therefore, a succession of employers," he says.

A new meeting was also scheduled for the 3rd.