Brazil's central bank withdraws proposal of 22% increase for employees

Brazil's central bank on Thursday backed off from a proposal presented to the Economy Ministry for a 22% raise for its employees starting in June amid a strike for wage increases, after saying it found inconsistencies in the text.

Brazil's central bank on Thursday backed off from a proposal presented to the Economy Ministry for a 22% raise for its employees starting in June amid a strike for wage increases, after saying it found inconsistencies in the text. Policymakers stressed in a statement that the proposal had been withdrawn from the federal government system after "inconsistencies in the draft of an executive order for the restructuring of careers and the modernization of people management in this authority".

It was unclear whether the proposal would be resubmitted with the 22% wage increase request. The central bank did not elaborate on the inconsistencies in the text nor respond to further requests for comments.

On condition of anonymity, two sources from the Economy Ministry had earlier confirmed that the request had been submitted. One of them had said that it had been due to be analyzed by the management area of the ministry before having its budget viability studied by the Treasury. The proposal improved the 5% increase mentioned by central bank chief Roberto Campos Neto in a previous meeting with workers' representatives.

The 5% salary bump would be granted to all civil servants, amid loud complaints from other categories, including tax auditors and police officers. Many public employees have not seen their wages rise in years and the number of protests has increased as double-digit inflation erodes purchasing power in Latin America's largest economy. The central bank workers' strike began in April. It was suspended amid negotiations but resumed after the employees found the proposals unsatisfactory.

Because of the strike, some economic data from the central bank were halted, including its Focus survey of economists with estimates for variables such as inflation and interest rates.

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