Unicamp intensified the actions carried out to monitor the quality of the service provided in its restaurants. fields and technical schools – currently under the responsibility of an outsourced company. The Executive Board of Administration (DEA) set up a group of monitoring – bringing together representatives from four University bodies – which began to act exclusively in supervising the contract.
The group has been producing daily reports on the performance of the company responsible for the service and checks everything from waste disposal and the cleaning of trays and kitchens to the way the company interacts with its employees.
The DEA also decided to set up an exclusive team of inspectors to receive and verify complaints about the quality of the meal served to students and employees and created a direct channel to receive complaints and present evidence of irregularities. (fiscalizacao-restaurantes-I@unicamp.br). According to the DGA (General Directorate of Administration), this email account is administered directly by the team in charge of supervising the contract.
The director of the DGA, Lina Nakata, recommends that students and other restaurant users make any complaints whenever they encounter any irregularities. “The important thing is that people report and produce evidence of the irregularity, as many times a photo or video can be used in a possible legal process”, she explains. “I wanted to make it very clear that we are taking action in relation to all complaints and requests that arrive through official channels”, assured Professor Zigomar Menezes de Souza, director of the DEA.
After analyzing the set of notifications received, in two months of operation, the service provider was penalized for not reaching the minimum score required to be entitled to full payment. In the period from September 5th to 20th, the score was 6,7 – below the minimum required by the contract, which is 6,75. Because of this, the company runs the risk of receiving an amount 10% lower than expected. In the period from September 21st to October 20th, the company reached the minimum score required.
TCE
The process of outsourcing restaurant services at Unicamp began in 2009 and since then the University has been searching for a solution to what has become a problem.
From 2012 onwards, the service began to be carried out by Funcamp (Unicamp Development Foundation), but, three years later, the contract was considered irregular by the State Court of Auditors (TCE) for having been signed using the bidding exemption model. . The same occurred with the 2016 and 2018 contracts.
In 2019, a GT (Working Group) was created to conduct a new process, which was only completed with the bidding model, in 2021. And this was also considered irregular. The notice was redone this year.
“The point is that Unicamp has been struggling with this problem since at least 2012, that is, ten years ago. During this period, the University tried other solutions and they were systematically questioned by the TCE”, argues the rector of Unicamp, Antonio José de Almeida Meirelles. “And we have to follow the law. We have no room for maneuver”, he recalled.
Meirelles says that the University's deliberative bodies can propose solutions, but they need to present proposals that are viable from a legal and economic point of view. “We have to analyze these two aspects”, warned the rector.
MPT
A working group created at Unicamp is expected to meet with members of the Public Labor Ministry (MPT) later this month. The idea is to start a process of discussions around labor legislation, which could result in the expansion of workers' rights.
Today, the values contracted in the University's tenders, in which there is a predominance of labor, are limited by the price references in the Book of Technical Studies of Outsourced Services (Cadterc). These references define the maximum value accepted for hiring in the State Administration, among other points. This means that there is a maximum amount you can pay per meal.
Another example is the definition of salaries. The remuneration of outsourced employees is defined based on parameters established in collective agreements for the categories of workers and the contractor cannot demand that the values be higher.
“The idea of the meeting with the MPT is to make proposals based on research and studies. If the MPT understands that the proposal is viable from a legal point of view, then we begin political interaction with the regulatory bodies”, explained Lina Nakata. “We are willing to incorporate more rights into these contracts. But we don't think this should be provided by Unicamp services. We understand that, in this way, we would be freeing companies from assuming responsibilities towards their own employees. The best alternative is for contracts to have this possibility and that is what we are working on”, said the dean.
other programs
The working group that will begin conversations with the MPT is part of a series of programs that are being implemented at Unicamp with the aim of improving the University's institutional relationship with outsourced companies.
The Campus Experience Service (SVC) coordinates with the School of Corporate Education (Educorp) and the Human Rights Observatory of the Executive Directorate of Human Rights (DdDH), the course “Service from the perspective of Human Rights”, which will work questions focused on the topic of human rights for Unicamp's outsourced security guards and concierge agents.
The course – which should be offered to surveillance and concierge workers – will discuss topics such as gender issues and prejudices, as these agents have a direct relationship with the university community, characterized by its diversity. The initiative also has support from the General Administration Directorate (DGA).
Watch the interview with DGA director Lina Nakata:
