Thousands of civil servants gathered, this Wednesday morning (24), in front of the Piratini Palace, in a Unified State Act to demand a General Revision of Salaries. “The Leite government (PSDB) is killing public servants” was the complaint made at the beginning of the demonstration that demanded respect and appreciation.
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Held in front of Palácio Piratini, home of governor Eduardo Leite (PSDB), representatives of the entities that make up the Front of Public Servants of Rio Grande do Sul (FSP/RS) left the message: enough with the neglect of public service.
Initially called by the CPERS Sindicato, the act inaugurated a unified day of struggles for all categories of the public service in Rio Grande do Sul. It also included the participation of technical-administrative education employees from Ufrgs who are on strike.
The coordinator of Assufrgs, Tamyres Filgueira, recalled that they have been on strike since March 8, participating in a national strike in defense of universities and federal institutes and also for the appreciation of public servants.
The event was attended by technical-administrative education employees from Ufrgs who are on strike / Photo: Katia Marko
“We had the assembly yesterday (23) and we decided to continue the strike because unfortunately negotiations with the federal government did not progress. In this sense, we will continue the pressure, strengthening our strike, because we want public universities and federal institutes are included in the budget. We think it is very important that education is a priority and, therefore, the appreciation of public servants is fundamental”, he highlighted.
“We want to open a negotiation table”
The president of the CPERS Union, Helenir Aguiar Schürer, highlighted the importance of the unity of public servants. “Today we had the presence of more than 3 thousand people in the Square, who with a lot of emotion and strength, passed on to everyone who was here a message of hope and unity. We left with renewed energy and willingness to fight.”
The president of CPERS, Helenir Aguiar Schürer, highlighted the struggles and the importance of unity between the categories to achieve their goals / Photo: Caco Argemi/CPERS Sindicato
The professor reinforced that the entities want to be called to dialogue. “We want to open a negotiation table to resolve the issue of civil servants. The government needs to carry out this review. We have several people who only received a 6% increase in 10 years. We have 34 thousand retired teachers who did not receive any increase beyond 6% and school employees who are also in this situation”, he warned.
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According to Helenir, the union defends a minimum wage of R$1,600 for school employees and that compensation funds are not deducted from the employees’ salary in order to reach the regional minimum wage.
“We have already presented the demand to the government, they stopped calling us after completing the study, so today is a warning. We are paying attention. There is no quality public service with public servants who are underpaid, sick and overwhelmed with work, because that is what is happening in the state of Rio Grande do Sul”, he highlighted.
Civil servants have already accumulated almost 10 years of salary gaps, unions denounce / Photo: Katia Marko
The leader informed that a new unified act should take place on May 10th. “We will try to come together again to put pressure on Eduardo Leite to back down from his position. It is important to say that Dieese carried out a survey that shows that from last year’s quarter to this year the ICMS collection increased by 24%, and the large The question is, where is that money?”
Impoverishment and illness of categories
During the mobilization, grassroots representatives from several unions that make up the FSP/RS reported the current situation of the categories. Impoverishment and illness, caused by almost 10 years of wage cuts, were some of the common themes among the participants.
The president of Sindicaixa and representative of FSP/RS, Érico Corrêa, highlights that it was one of the biggest and best acts of the civil servants in recent times / Photo: Caco Argemi/CPERS Sindicato
The president of Sindicaixa and representative of FSP/RS, Érico Corrêa, highlights that it was one of the biggest and best acts of the civil servants in recent times. “The categories responded to the call from the unions, we filled the square and gave a strong message to Eduardo Leite that it is no longer possible to withstand the salary squeeze, the destruction of IPE Saúde, the attack on retirees and all the other ills of this government to Congratulations to all public servants and the population of Rio Grande and the fight continues until the salary adjustment is achieved.”
For the general secretary of the Union of Justice Servants of the State of RS, Fabiano Salazar, the annual general review of inflation is an agenda that unites the categories, which serves both active civil servants and retirees.
“What this government has done in recent years is to destroy public servants and services. Our rights are being increasingly taken away. So we have to unite. The unity of the working class is the only way we can to organize, resist and fight for our rights”, he defended.
The general secretary of the Union of Justice Servants of the State of RS, Fabiano Salazar, highlighted that the annual general review of inflation is an agenda that unites the categories / Photo: Caco Argemi/CPERS Sindicato
“Education is the basis of everything”
Retired teacher Jussara Domingues, 83 years old, stated that she is always fighting. A member of CPERS since 1960, she lamented that governments do not prioritize education, as education is the basis of everything.
“All politicians have passed through a teacher, and then teachers are not valued. Lately with Leite’s government it has gotten much worse, because in addition to the pension being already very low, we are deducting contributions to Social Security, something that has never happened before. So , instead of increasing our salaries, it decreased”, he reflects.
Jussara says he would really like to be at home, resting with his grandchildren, “but I have to be here.”
Posters brought the demands of the categories / Photo: Joana Berwanger/CPERS Sindicato
“I will never leave the fight. One day, maybe not for me, but for other generations, these governments will remember that: education is the basis of everything.” And he asks society: “Don’t criticize us, try to understand our struggle and I know that the population greatly appreciates teachers.”
The bells rang again in Praça da Matriz / Photo: Joana Berwanger/CPERS Sindicato
The act also included the participation of state deputies Luciana Genro (Psol), Matheus Gomes (Psol), Adão Pretto (PT), Sofia Cavedon (PT) and Jeferson Fernandes (PT), as well as councilor Roberto Robaina.
The state government was contacted, but until the end of the article it had not sent its position. Once sent, it will be posted in this space.
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Source: BdF Rio Grande do Sul
Editing: Marcelo Ferreira
