Uncategorized

Minimum wage of R$ 1,320 should not come out before mid-2023, says Government

After meeting with representatives of the trade unions, Lula announced the creation of a working group to deal with the adjustment of the minimum wage.

After a meeting with around 500 representatives from trade unions, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva announced the creation of a working group to deal with the adjustment of the minimum wage.

Together with Luiz Marinho, Minister of Labor and Employment, Lula announced three work fronts associated with the minimum wage improvement policy, understand what they are:

The first group will be made up of representatives from the government and trade unions and will have to present a proposal for a permanent increase in the national minimum. The deadline can be extended for another 45 days.

A second group will have a period of 30 days to prepare a proposal for collective bargaining and the reorganization of Brazilian unions;

Finally, the third group will have to present, also within 30 days, a proposal for regulating work via application platforms.

“We follow the situation of app workers who often have to work 14, 16 hours a day to bring home bread and milk. This borders on slave labor“, claimed Marinho.

What is the minimum wage for 2023?

Already in force since January 1, 2023, the new minimum wage is R$ 1,302. The value adjustment was made by former president Jair Bolsonaro in December 2022, through the signing of Provisional Measure No. 1,143.

Shortly after taking office as president, Lula did not make any adjustments to the value of the national minimum in 2023.

By how much has the national minimum risen in 2023?

Compared to last year, when the minimum wage was R$ 1,212, the minimum wage adjustment percentage for 2023 was 7.42%. The expectation was that the national floor with Lula would rise another 1.5% and reach close to R$ 1,320.

According to the Minister of Labor, Luiz Marinho, the minimum wage will remain at R$ 1,302 until May 2023. After this period, the government should evaluate a new increase.

In negotiations with union headquarters, Fernando Haddad, Minister of Finance, indicated that an increase beyond the current R$ 1,302 depends on the calculation of the number of INSS beneficiaries. This is because the value of the minimum wage is used as the basis for paying social security benefits to millions of Brazilians.

It is estimated by the Ministry of Finance that the cost of raising the minimum wage from R$ 1,302 to R$ 1,320 should reach R$ 7 billion, expenses that must be accommodated within the Government's spending ceiling.

What does Lula say about the national minimum?

It is important to highlight that the increase in the value of the minimum wage to R$ 1,320 was a campaign proposal by President Lula, accompanied by the renewal of the Bolsa Família program in the amount of R$ 600 in 2023.

Now elected, the president says he continues to defend the adjustment, but he no longer guarantees the increase from January onwards, as expected.

“The value of the minimum wage should increase in accordance with economic growth. The economy has risen, people who receive the minimum wage will have an increase in line with GDP. This is what we have to do to improve the country“, stated Lula after the meeting that established the working groups.

See below the percentage of the national minimum adjustment received between 2013 and 2022:

Year of validity	Value of the minimum wage	Increase percentage
2022	R$ 1.212	10,18%
2021	R$ 1,100	5,26%
2020	R$ 1.045	0,58%
2020	R$ 1,039	4,1%
2019	R$ 998.00	4,61%
2018	R$ 954.00	1,81%
2017	R$ 937.00	6,48%
2016	R$ 880.00	11,68%
2015	R$ 788.00	8,84%
2014	R$ 724.00	6,78%
2013	R$ 678.00	9%