In 2022, the Supreme Federal Court (STF) analyzed the constitutionality of Law No. 14,434/2022, which establishes the national salary floor for nurses, nursing technicians, nursing assistants, and midwives. The decision was favorable to the validity of the law, determining its application, although with some specific conditions, especially in the public sector and in private entities that serve the Unified Health System (SUS).
According to public servant law specialist lawyer Pedro Nunes, the legislation is quite clear regarding the application of the salary floor.
"The law states that the floor must apply to the basic salary, that is, the initial value of the career. The objective is precisely to value professionals from the beginning of their careers, ensuring a dignified remuneration from the start," explains the lawyer.
The lawyer states that it was defined that federal public servants are entitled to the full salary floor, as provided for in the law. The federal government must make payments regularly.
"As for state, municipal, and Federal District servants and private entities with 60% or more of their services funded by SUS, the payment of the salary floor is conditioned to federal resources sent as complementary financial assistance, meaning that if these resources are insufficient, states and municipalities are not obligated to make up the amount with their own funds," he points out.
In this regard, the federal government has the duty to release supplementary credit to enable the implementation of the national salary floor. The Ministry of Health, for example, has already been transferring these complementary funds. Ordinance GM/MS No. 597, dated May 12, 2023, allocated approximately R$ 7.3 billion for this purpose nationwide. Only the state of Espírito Santo received approximately R$ 167 million.
"It is important to remember that if the resources are sufficient, the payment of the salary floor becomes mandatory, including proportionally to the working hours: Those who work 30 hours a week should receive proportionally to the salary floor of 40 hours," states the lawyer.
Despite this, many municipalities and states, even receiving the complementary transfers, still have not been making the payment of the national salary floor to nursing professionals.
"The national salary floor is law and must be complied with. Receiving the full amount of the salary floor is not a favor – it is a guaranteed right of nursing professionals," concludes Nunes.
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