Customs auditors at Port of Santos renew strike over promised efficiency bonuses

Customs auditors will once again halt the clearance of export and import shipments and the decision-making processes at the Port of Santos on Wednesday (January 31). The strike will continue until Saturday. Additionally, there will be no public service in any sector of the Federal Revenue Customs Office.

This marks the second strike by the category within a five-day interval, aimed at pressuring the Federal Government to fulfill the agreement signed in 2016, which established paid productivity bonuses. However, perishable goods, live animals, hazardous materials, medicines, and on-board consumption food will be released normally.

The rally is led by the Santos Regional Delegation of the National Union of Federal Revenue Auditors of Brazil (Sindisfisco Nacional). Flávio Prado, the vice president of the Santos delegation, stated that with the suspension of services last week, “there was a 30% increase in cargo awaiting clearance.”

He explained that eight years ago, the union and the Federal Government agreed on the payment of an efficiency bonus, costing R$ 2 billion per year. “It is our productivity bonus. However, the Federal Government approved only R$ 700 million for the 2024 budget, one-third of the agreed amount.”

The compensation for productivity was instituted under Federal Law 13,464/2017, which stipulates that 25% of the Application Plan of the Special Fund for the Development and Improvement of Inspection Activities (Fundaf) be allocated as a bonus to federal employees in this category. Last year, Finance Minister Fernando Haddad signed Decree MF 727/2023, allocating funds to the agreement. According to the National Syndicate of Federal Revenue Auditors, this is not being fulfilled.

Prado also mentioned that around 200 customs auditors will hold a demonstration in front of the Ministry of Finance in Brasília today to pressure Haddad. Approximately 1,300 import declarations and 800 export declarations have their releases affected daily. In the tax area, customs auditors continue to abstain from participating in sessions or submitting any work, except for judicial demands or those in the process of decay.

The category went on strike on November 20, and at the Customs Office of the Port of Santos, the clearance of shipments (excluding perishable goods, live animals, hazardous materials, medicines, and on-board consumption food) faces delays, impacting the flow index of imports and exports.

Source: A Tribuna

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