The expense containment measures approved on October 3rd by the University Council (Consu), Unicamp's highest deliberative body, are austere, but essential to face the current moment of financial crisis experienced by the institution. The statement comes from rector Marcelo Knobel, when analyzing the decision of the Unicamp Workers' Union (STU) to request the revocation of two resolutions admitted by Consu, which deal with the linear cut of 30% of unincorporated bonuses paid to teachers, researchers and employees and the submission to the Council for analysis of initiatives that result in increased expenses for Unicamp.
[listen interview by the dean on the topic on CBN Campinas radio]
According to Knobel, no matter how unpopular some of the resolutions are, they are important to seek to balance the University's budget, which was strongly affected by decisions made by the previous administration and by Brazil's low economic activity. The institution, notes the rector, has been using its strategic reserves for some years to maintain activities and pay off commitments. “We are supplementing the budget by around 15% per month. It turns out that these reserves are finite, which forces us to make decisions that imply cutting expenses,” he explains.
The measures approved by Consu, recalls the leader, are not isolated. The University has adopted other actions with the aim of reducing expenses, such as renegotiating contracts signed with suppliers and service providers. “We are working in a determined and transparent manner to ensure Unicamp’s financial sustainability. We recognize that some decisions are tough and affect people's lives, but they are essential to avoid an even worse situation, in which the payment of salaries and the 13th salary of teaching and non-teaching employees could be compromised”, warns Knobel.
The manager exemplifies this concern with information relating to the payment of bonuses. According to the dean, this expense needs to be considered, as it represents a disbursement of R$80 million per year for Unicamp. “An important fact is that, each year, according to state legislation, 10% of the bonus value is incorporated into salaries. The University cannot sustain this progression”, he considers. In addition to the temporary linear cut in current bonuses, the resolution indicates that changes must be made in units and bodies to reduce the number of current bonuses.
The rector claims to have found the STU's stance of requesting the revocation of the resolutions approved by the Consu strange. The union presented a request to call an extraordinary session of the Council, based on the collection of 25 signatures from its full members, which is provided for in the body's regulations. “In addition to having been recently assessed, the matters were approved by a large majority of councilors. The Attorney General's Office issued an opinion considering that there is no new fact that justifies the re-discussion of these measures. In fact, this request arose without any explanation, and could become a very damaging precedent for the institutionality of the University”, points out Knobel.
However, the rector decided to promote the discussion of the request to revoke the resolutions in an extraordinary session scheduled for November 07th. “One aspect that needs to be clear is that the Central Administration will never refuse to debate issues of interest to the university community, which can happen in the most different instances”, assures the director.
One of these bodies, which is in full activity, is the Working Group (GT) set up by Consu to formulate suggestions that contribute to promoting a cost cut of around R$25 million per year, which approximately corresponds to the vegetative growth of the payroll, with the aim of promoting career progression processes for employees and teachers in 2018. The GT is made up of representatives of students, teachers and technical-administrative employees. “We are open to new proposals in this regard. Our hope is that part of these restrictive measures will be provisional, that is, that they will only last as long as the crisis persists. The country's economy has shown small signs of recovery, but this has not yet been enough for us to stop worrying about the future of Unicamp and its workers”, ponders Knobel.
