Commission approves MP of FGTS and text goes to Chamber plenary

The joint committee of the Congress approved, this Tuesday, the 5th, the provisional measure that releases withdrawals from the Severance Indemnity Fund (FGTS). The text goes to vote in the plenary of the Chamber and later, in the Senate. The MP needs to be analyzed by Congress until the next 20th to become law.

The approved report increases the immediate withdrawal from R$ 500 to R$ 998 in the case of accounts with up to the minimum wage, in July, when the measure was signed by President Jair Bolsonaro.

The rapporteur, Deputy Hugo Motta (Republicans-PB), reduced the FGTS administration fee from 1% to 0.5% and, in exchange, maintained Caixa’s monopoly in the operation of the fund’s resources.

The report also ends with an additional 10% fine for companies in unfair dismissals.

The rapporteur presented on Tuesday a new version of the opinion after an agreement with parliamentarians. The report takes away the power of the Minister of Economy to define the criteria for the use of resources from the Workers’ Support Fund (FAT) that are applied in the National Bank for Economic and Social Development (BNDES) and are returned to the fund. The attribution will be with the Deliberative Council of FAT (Codefat).

Currently, the balance of the fund in the bank totals R$ 284 billion. As anticipated by Broadcast Politico, Grupo Estado’s real-time news system, the new opinion puts a ceiling on the share of resources that can return to the Treasury.

According to the text, the return will be limited to the amount sufficient to fund the FAT functions: unemployment insurance, payment of salary bonuses and financing of professional and technological education programs.

The MP had ended the return ceiling. Senator José Serra (PSDB-SP) called for the repositioning of the limit, arguing that unlimited power would allow the government to do creative accounting – a maneuver forcing the expansion of the deficit.