The Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, said today (20) that the retirement and minimum wage readjustments are maintained for next year. The new value, which takes effect in January, should at least cover inflation, according to Guedes. “The game is running. Of course, now in January, February, retirees and the minimum wage will be adjusted at least equal to inflation,” he said.
The statement was made to the press shortly after Guedes participated in the board meeting of the National Confederation of Commerce in Goods, Services and Tourism (CNC), in Rio de Janeiro.
The minister also defended a readjustment of the spending ceiling, something that is still being studied. Spending on the pandemic showed, according to him, that the ceiling, which should stop the increases in federal government spending, is “all punctured”, is “full of leaks”.
According to Guedes, the measure prevents, for example, transfers to federated entities and other necessary expenses in times of crisis, such as the pandemic. The measure, which instituted the ceiling is from 2016.
Even with possible changes in resource allocations, the minister guaranteed that pensions and the minimum wage will not suffer. “No one is going to use a rule change to harm the minimum wage and retirees,” he guaranteed.
Until 2019, the minimum wage was readjusted according to the formula that predicted the growth of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP, sum of wealth produced in the country) of 2 previous years plus the official inflation of the previous year.
Since 2020, the adjustment has only followed the replacement of inflation by the National Consumer Price Index (INPC). The readjustments occur because the Federal Constitution determines that the minimum wage, fixed by law, nationally unified, is capable of meeting their basic vital needs and those of their family with housing, food, education, health, leisure, clothing, hygiene, transportation and social security, with periodical readjustments that preserve its purchasing power, being prohibited its binding for any purpose.
The value of the minimum wage also impacts the payment of pensions. The minimum wage is currently R$1,212.
The minister also said that civil service salaries should be readjusted, after the most critical situation of the pandemic.
