Last Saturday (18), the president of the Federal Supreme Court (STF), minister Dias Toffoli, granted a precautionary measure which equated the salary ceiling for professors and researchers at state universities to those at federal institutions. As a result, the salary cap for teachers and researchers at state universities is now R$39.239,32, equivalent to the salary of STF ministers. The new value represents the maximum salary that a professor or researcher can receive. This does not mean, however, that all professors and researchers will automatically receive salaries equal to the ceiling for STF ministers. The measure also does not change the teaching career at universities in São Paulo.
The decision responds to a direct action of unconstitutionality (ADI), filed by the Social Democratic Party (PSD) at the end of 2019, which questioned an interpretation made of the Constitutional Amendment 41/2003. The law set the salary ceilings for civil servants in the executive, legislative and judiciary branches of the union, states and municipalities to the salaries of mayors, governors and judges of states and ministers of the STF, respecting the connection of civil servants to their respective sphere of power. As a result, the salary ceiling for professors and researchers at state universities in São Paulo became much lower than those at federal universities. In the case of state universities in São Paulo, the salary cap is set at R$23.048,59, equivalent to the governor's subsidy, while in federal universities the cap is R$39.239,32.
The ADI contested this distinction with the argument that it created a differentiation between professors at universities in the states and those linked to the union, as they all carry out the same type of work (teaching, research and extension) and undergo the same qualifications and degrees. In the decision, Minister Toffoli argues that the Constitution provides that education is a duty of the State and the nationwide education system must establish "guidelines, goals, resources and maintenance and development strategies" for all levels of education. Thus, he determined that the salary of STF ministers should be maintained as a single ceiling for the country's universities. As it is an injunction, it will still be discussed by the court after the court recess.
Another factor that contributed to the granting of the injunction was the disparity in sub-ceilings between the states. According to the Brazilian Federation of State Tax Inspectors Associations (fever), only six states (Alagoas, Espírito Santo, São Paulo, Paraíba, Rondônia and Tocantins) associate the salary cap with their governors' subsidy. The other states have their own laws.
The rector of Unicamp, Marcelo Knobel, commented on the importance of the decision. According to him, the unification of ceilings fulfills essential functions: the valorization of teachers and researchers who have dedicated themselves to the university for several years, and who had their salaries cut, and the maintenance of young people who enter the scientific career and can count on prospects of career growth in state institutions. "Many talented and young people were not choosing university as a possible destination. This is really something that concerns us from an institutional point of view, maintaining a strong and valued career", argued the dean. In addition to the lack of motivation among young people, the university began to lose professionals to other national and international institutions whose salaries were more competitive.
The general coordinator of the University, Teresa Dib Zambon Atvars, considers that the salary of teachers is made up of the corresponding level in the career, which is meritocratic, and incorporations provided for by law such as the five-year period, the sixth part and the incorporation of bonuses for exercise of function. “That’s why older teachers who have progressed in their careers are expected to have higher salaries,” she notes.
According to her, in the situation in which the governor's subsidy was applied as a sub-ceiling, a teacher at the MS5.2 level, for example, with five years and a sixth part, already reached the salary ceiling so that the university career prevented any other possibility of a salary increase. , unless the governor changed his subsidy. The meritocratic career was linked to government political decisions. “By defining a nationally unified ceiling for the career of university professors and researchers, the meritocratic concept of the teaching career is reestablished, the relationship between career structure and remuneration is reestablished and remuneration is decoupled from political subsidies”, points out Teresa .
At Unicamp, the impact will be approximately 2,5% of the total payroll
The adoption of the new salary cap should represent an annualized impact of around 2,5% of the payroll for Unicamp. According to data from the Economics and Planning Advisory (AEPLAN) and General Directorate of Human Resources (DGRH), today the university has 461 active professors and researchers and another 594 retirees with salaries and benefits that exceed the previous sub-ceiling of R$23.048,59. Of these professionals, 73% dedicated 35 years or more to university. Currently, 68% of the university's teachers and researchers have salaries below the governor's subceiling, 27% have salaries between the subceiling and R$30 thousand reais and only 5% have salaries between R$31 thousand reais and the new ceiling.
It is worth noting that the new salary cap will not imply new expenses for the state government, as the transfer value to universities in São Paulo continues to be set at 9,57% of the State's ICMS collection, distributed between USP, Unesp and Unicamp. In the case of Unicamp, the value is 2,2% of ICMS. According to Alcir Pécora, professor at the Institute of Literary Studies (IEL) from Unicamp, this contradicts the view that the application of the ceiling linked to the governor's subsidy meant savings on the part of the State. "The ceiling does not change the state's spending because the transfer amount remains the same. The decision has no impact on the state", comments Pécora.
Freezes and discounts harmed teaching careers
Questions involving the salary cap value for professors and researchers at Unicamp began in 2014. At the time, following a new understanding of the STF and following recommendations made by the State Court of Auditors, the university chose to freeze salaries that were higher than the state ceiling (governor's allowance) as it understood that salaries could not be reduced, in accordance with the Article 37 of the Constitution. The measure was approved by the São Paulo Court of Justice. In these cases, the amount that exceeded the ceiling was paid separately, an amount known as the extra-ceiling portion, which remained frozen, being incorporated into payments only when salary adjustments were made.
However, the Public Ministry of Accounts of the State of São Paulo, with the understanding that the governor's subsidy should be the remuneration sub-ceiling, began to judge the teachers' retirements as irregular, under the argument that the university would not be obeying the STF's decision. . At the beginning of 2019, the same Public Prosecutor's Office filed a request for a precautionary measure alleging that the university was not complying with the salary sub-ceiling, as it did not take a salary cut in accordance with the governor's subsidy. Due to successive cases like these, added to the fact that the university's accounts from 2007 to 2011 and 2014 had already been judged as irregular mainly due to the salary cap, the Unicamp Attorney General's Office recommended that the university start cutting the extrateto portion of salaries. The measure was adopted in September 2019.
According to Alcir Pécora, the application of state ceilings was a distortion of what the Federal Constitution provides, which establishes education as a guaranteed right for the entire country. He also argues that the measure made the careers of professors at state universities in São Paulo less attractive than at federal universities. "Every professor who became a full professor had already reached the ceiling, he had no further prospects of earning. Why would he continue?", asks the professor.
For Carlos Vogt, professor and former dean of Unicamp, the precautionary measure granted by Toffoli corrects a distortion that harmed the autonomy of São Paulo universities. "The decision restores a state that had been achieved in the process of developing the financial autonomy of universities in São Paulo. It is something expected by the teaching community, they fought for it", he comments. He further argues that the difference between state and federal ceilings resulted in an unjustifiable distinction.
The professor also points out the importance of the decision to ensure the continued appreciation of teaching and research careers at universities in São Paulo and to avoid the so-called brain drain, that is, the preference of young researchers for other institutions outside the state universities in São Paulo, which harms the continuity of research groups and other initiatives that depend on staying at universities. "The state schools are responsible for a level of academic and intellectual production that is almost half of what is produced in the country. The disparity generated a situation of unreasonable inequality, flattening the teaching career", explains Vogt.
Questions and answers
With the new salary cap, will all teachers receive R$39?
No. The new value, equivalent to that of STF ministers, represents the maximum salary that a professor or researcher can receive. In the case of Unicamp, only 0,6% receive salaries greater than R$35 thousand.
With the new salary cap, will the government have to transfer more resources to universities?
No. The amount received by state universities in São Paulo is set by law at 9,57% of the total ICMS collected by the State, distributed between USP, Unesp and Unicamp. In the case of Unicamp, the value is 2,2% of ICMS.
Does the decision imply a salary increase?
No. The precautionary measure only determines the end of salary cuts for teachers and researchers who, depending on their careers, receive salaries higher than the State Governor's subsidy.
Who will benefit from the measure?
To all teachers, directly or indirectly, which includes new hires. This is because, with the advancement of careers and the achievement of benefits, such as five-year periods and six-year periods, salaries will not be cut. In the case of teachers who take on administrative positions, they would no longer receive the corresponding bonus, even while holding their position, as long as their total salary exceeds the sub-ceiling hitherto in force.
Does the measure also change the teaching career at universities in São Paulo?
No. The way teaching careers progress at universities remains the same. The measure only unifies the salary cap for state and federal universities.
When will the measure be implemented?
Universities will implement the measure from the moment it is published in the Official Gazette.
Also check out what has already appeared on the Portal and in the Jornal da Unicamp (JU) on the subject:
JU special edition on salary issues at universities (Aug 2015)
In a letter to the newspaper Estadão, teachers criticize the proposed salary cap for civil servants in São Paulo (Sep 2017)
Universities and the new ceiling of civil service (jun 2018)
