House Committee holds hearing on floor for nursing on Wednesday

The Chamber of Deputies' Social Security and Family Committee is holding next Wednesday (8) a public hearing to discuss the creation of the minimum salary for nurses, technicians and nursing assistants. The Senate Plenary approved the project that institutes the floor on the 24th, and now the subject goes to the Chamber of Deputies.

The project includes the salary floor in Law 7,498, of 1986, which regulates the practice of nursing, and establishes a national minimum initial value for nurses in the amount of R$ 4,750 in both the public and private spheres. It also determines that nursing technicians must receive at least 70% of the national floor for nurses, while midwives and nursing assistants must receive 50% of the national floor for nurses.

The Confederation of Santas Casas and Philanthropic Hospitals (CMB), which represents 1,824 health institutions that serve the Unified Health System (SUS), says that, if the floor is approved, nonprofit hospitals could collapse because they are unable to absorb the impact on costs.

According to the CMB, the floors will have an impact of around R$6.2 billion annually on the costs of philanthropic hospitals. "The establishment of this floor will lead to the closing of hospitals, unemployment and the disruption of an important part of health care, with very negative consequences for the SUS", says the president of the CMB, Mirocles Véras.

The confederation considers that the creation of a single floor will have an impact on small cities, with lower average salaries, in which the santa casa or the philanthropic hospital is the only health facility. The entity says that the value represents salary increases of 92% in Paraná, 149% in Mato Grosso do Sul and 186% in Paraíba for nursing technicians.

The Federal Council of Nursing (Cofen) announced on its website that the heroism of nursing professionals on the front lines of combating covid-19 moved society, won popular support and led the category to conquer the floor.

According to senator Eliziane Gama (Cidadania-MA), rapporteur of the approved project, the category “has been fighting for decades for the recognition of a salary floor”. According to her, the approval of the matter is the result of resistance and the project is a way of doing justice to nurses, technicians, assistants and midwives.

Chamber

The president of the Chamber of Deputies, Arthur Lira (PP-AL), said last week that he will discuss with party leaders the inclusion of a 30-hour weekly workload for nursing professionals in the project that will be processed at the House.

“This category contributed a lot, like all health professionals, to the fight against the pandemic. We will have a public hearing next week, including evaluating whether it was worth putting 30 hours in the Senate text as well. The Chamber has to score too, it's not just defending, no”, said Lira at the time.

With information from the Chamber and Senate Agency

Text translated using artificial intelligence.