Health workers are now seeking legal action to guarantee a minimum salary. Photo: Tania Rigo/Agência Brasil
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It is not just strikes promoted by nurses, technicians and nursing assistants to demand payment of minimum wages. Some workers' representatives choose different methods to collect remittances and point out violations, such as the Bahia State Nurses' Union (SEEB), for example. President Alessandra Gadelha says they have a roving Sib project, which goes to the units to identify problems and dialogue with the group they represent. They intend to file complaints with the Ministry of Labor.
“We catalog all complaints that have reached our channels, including those received through the Ministry of Public Labor (MPT). We have created a spreadsheet containing all the data, such as: the reported fact, the company and the municipality. We are in contact with the MPT to filter the data and determine the behavior .
Federation President Alessandra Gadelha believes it is necessary to do everything in her power to demand something that is already defined and guaranteed by law.
“The floor is there, it is in the law. So, the boss, the businessman who owns a clinic, a hospital, a laboratory and who wants to pay his workers according to Law 14434, nothing prevents him from doing so.
The first meeting with the authority is scheduled to be held in the next few days. In total, Alessandra reveals that there are already more than 110 complaints coming from MPT alone. The first edition was held in October last year, in the total areas of the state of Bahia. Data were collected from the following municipalities: Vieira de Santana, Alagoinhas, Juazeiro, Casanova, Vitoria da Conquista, Giqui, Puerto Seguro, Yonápolis, and Barreras.
Caravans
The president of the Professional Union of Nursing Assistants and Technicians of Pernambuco (Satenbe), Francis Herbert, is concerned about progress in negotiations with the private network. According to him, the transfers were delayed and there are still accounts and tables being filled out by completely wrong departments, with different understandings.
“We need to equate these understandings with what is stated in the Ministry of Health’s regulations and manuals, so that there is no harm to professionals. Regarding the profitable private network, for example, these companies still do not pay the minimum. We closed negotiations with the Attorney General's Office to no avail; “We are heading to the regional labor court to try there.”
Francis Herbert says workers would benefit from having a Department of Health convoy — when MS specialists go to states to guide managers on minimum wage demands — to push the issue:
“There is still a lot of fighting to be done. If we have a dispute, the president will not wake up and we will have to strike. This is bad for everyone, it is bad for society, it is bad for the professionals. But, unfortunately, this is what we have in our hands.” Today in Pernambuco, which has the worst salary in the private network paid by this sector,” he complains and adds:
“On the thirtieth day from now, the Ministry of Health convoy will be in Pernambuco, where we in Sathembe will sit with them at the table, to try to resolve all the points specifically,” he points out.
other countries
The president of the Union of Nursing Assistants and Technicians of Pará (SATE-PA), Marley Grove, complains that the group is having difficulties in reaching an agreement and abandoning the possibility of another strike.
“With regard to charitable nursing, this week they received January, which the city hall transferred to companies. In February and March, the city council has not yet pushed companies to pay our charity workers. And that's not all. Marley adds:
“As for the state, it remains as it is, always two months late, has not committed, has not implemented, and continues to neglect the nursing category,” he says.
In Cuiabá, the category union reported that the situation had not yet been resolved. The workers are still waiting to determine what was discussed at the meeting of workers, representatives of the private sector and the state to know whether they will end the discussions or not.
