06/16/2024 – 7:13
The Federal Supreme Court (STF) decided this Wednesday, 12th, that the balances of the Service Time Guarantee Fund (FGTS) must be corrected, at least, by percentages equal to those of the Broad National Consumer Price Index (IPCA ), official inflation index.
Ministers agreed that the change will not have retroactive effects.
The decision is a victory for the government, which reached an agreement with trade unions and managed to avoid the obligation to make corrections through the savings account. The impact in this case would be R$31 billion over 15 years, according to calculations presented by the Union.
Currently, the FGTS is corrected by 3% per year plus the Reference Rate (TR).
See how each minister voted:
Adjustment for savings
Luís Roberto Barroso – “My point of view is that the worker’s savings should not be remunerated at a lower value than the savings account, because I consider this to be a confiscation.”
André Mendonça – “I, at this point, think I’m more social than liberal. Not by choice, but by seeing in the Constitution, in article 7, a commandment that imposes this link.”
Edson Fachin – “It is possible, and even necessary, to consider the (financial) impact of decisions. However, the consequence must not necessarily be a premise, it must illuminate the decision, but cannot condition it.”
Kassio Nunes Marques – “Correcting the balance value is of fundamental importance for the worker. The public authorities cannot simply fail to correct the balance.”
Maintain current compensation
Cristiano Zanin – “The FGTS should not be confused with a financial application.”
Alexandre de Moraes – “The right to FGTS is a social right, but not of a strictly patrimonial nature.”
Toffoli Days – “Popular financing is the social function of the guarantee fund, which was created precisely to be an urban infrastructure fund. To this day, the poorest working population has access to housing through FGTS financing and subsidized interest. So, in fact, there is a sharing of solidarity among the workers themselves so that those with less economic and social conditions have access to their own home.”
Gilmar Mendes – “If there is one area in which self-restraint (of the Judiciary) is strongly recommended, it is in relation to the economy and public finances.”
Maintain current form as long as the correction reaches the IPCA
Flávio Dino – “Fiscal responsibility is a fundamental citizen right, without which there are no social policies. The Judiciary must avoid creating new mandatory expenses. This is a hermeneutical guideline for Brazilian life, in which fiscal sustainability is an immense challenge.”
Carmen Lúcia – “Everyone is committed to ensuring, not only the structure and maintenance of the fund, but the social function for which it is intended, basically housing for those who need it most.”
Luiz Fux – “We cannot be more realistic than the king. The government defended it in the Supreme Court and clarified that the IPCA is more appropriate than the IPC Poupança. Guaranteeing governability and protecting workers’ rights, I understand that the Union’s proposal is irrefutable.”
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