The government will introduce a new executive order to authorize a 50% cut in salary and working hours.
The text should be presented in the coming days, with immediate effect.
247 - The federal government is expected to issue a new Provisional Measure to enable Provisional Measure 927, which allows for the reduction of workers' salaries and working hours by up to 50% for up to four months, amid the new coronavirus pandemic.
According to Folha de S. PaulThe text should be presented in the coming days, with immediate effect. According to the published Provisional Measure, the government would also provide salary compensation to some workers who had their salaries cut during the crisis period. This aid, intended for those earning up to two minimum wages, would be an advance of 25% of the amount these people would be entitled to monthly if they lost their jobs and applied for unemployment insurance.
On Monday, the 23rd, hours after the publication of Provisional Measure 927 and following intense negative repercussions of the measure, which leaves workers unprotected amidst the pandemic, Jair Bolsonaro backtracked.
Read the Reuters news report on the subject:
BRASILIA (Reuters) - President Jair Bolsonaro stated on Twitter that he has ordered the repeal of the article that allowed the suspension of employment contracts for up to 4 months, without pay, from a provisional measure published by the government due to the coronavirus pandemic.
"I have ordered the repeal of Article 18 of Provisional Measure 927, which allowed the suspension of employment contracts for up to four months without pay," the president said on Monday.
The executive order dealing with the suspension of employment contracts for four months during the coronavirus epidemic was published after 23 pm on Sunday, in an extra edition of the Official Gazette, without any announcement from the government.
The text would benefit businesses, but would leave workers even more vulnerable at a critical moment in the country's economy. Bombarded by criticism, even from government supporters, the president decided to backtrack.
Earlier, upon leaving the Alvorada Palace, Bolsonaro had defended the provisional measure, which he said would further relax the Consolidation of Labor Laws (CLT), aiming to maintain jobs.
"It's a way to preserve jobs, reduce the notice period, and allow people to take vacations now," he stated.
The president had also mentioned government "aid" during the four-month suspension of employment contracts, but without clarifying how this benefit would be granted.
According to the text of the measure, employment contracts could be suspended for up to four months due to the coronavirus pandemic, and, if desired, the employer could individually negotiate a "monthly compensatory allowance, without the nature of salary".
After authorizing the suspension of employment contracts for up to four months, the government will issue a new Provisional Measure.
According to the Ministry of Economy, it will then be up to Congress to validate the measure within 120 days.
On Sunday night (23), President Jair Bolsonaro published a Provisional Measure authorizing the suspension of employment contracts for up to four months. During this period, the employee stops working and does not receive a salary. The company is obliged to offer online training courses and maintain benefits, such as health insurance. The employer may choose to pay a compensatory allowance, with no amount defined by the government.
In an interview given last week, officials from the ministry did not indicate that the suspension of contracts would be authorized.
However, another measure was announced but not officially included in Sunday's Provisional Measure. This measure would allow employers, in agreement with their employees, to reduce salaries and working hours by up to 50%.
The government would also provide wage compensation to some workers who had their salaries cut during the crisis period. This aid, intended for those earning up to two minimum wages, would be an advance of 25% of the amount these people would be entitled to monthly if they lost their jobs and applied for unemployment insurance.
The Special Secretary for Social Security and Labor, Bruno Bianco, said that another Provisional Measure allowing for this reduction in working hours and wages will be published this week. Because, in this model, the government intends to advance part of the unemployment insurance to employees of companies that opt for reduced contracted hours, this measure has an impact on public finances and, therefore, will be published later.