Mayor clarifies the application of the new PCFR and reacts to employee discontent

At a press conference, Amândio Brito said that the institution operates under the rule of law and does not prevent anyone from claiming their rights, explaining that the Plan of Positions, Functions and Remuneration (PCFR) in question is from 2024, according to Decree-Law no. 4/2024, of January 24, and not from 2025 or 2026, the period in which the current team began to govern the Brava City Council.

According to the mayor, as this is a 2024 law, it would be up to the former council team to set in motion the procedures necessary for its implementation, namely drawing up a list of officials with the requirements to carry over, under the terms established by law.

However, he said that during the whole of 2024, a period in which the current team was not yet in place, "absolutely nothing was done" towards the implementation of the PCFR, adding that no record was found showing a will or intention to carry out the process.

Amândio Brito also recalled that, when the diploma was published in January 2024, the former City Council had already benefited from an increase in funding from the Municipal Fund for the implementation of the PCFR, but had not applied it to that end.

On the other hand, he stressed that in just one year the current team had succeeded in granting the rights provided for in the law to all workers who were eligible.

According to the president, the decree states that all employees who joined the institution before 2013, under the PCCS, are entitled to benefit from the new PCFR. On the other hand, employees hired after that date can only be covered if they joined the institution via a public tender.

In this regard, he revealed that the current team has not found any records of public tenders held for a number of officials hired between 2013 and 2024, which makes it impossible for them to be included in the new PCFR.

The mayor pointed out that 91 employees have already been transferred under the new PCFR, asking how many local councils in the country have managed to do the same.

He also pointed out that, despite low own revenues and a payroll that was considered heavy, with more than 300 employees, the council had made "a huge sacrifice" because it recognized that valuing human resources was fundamental.

According to him, some workers received salary increases of two, three or four thousand escudos, in accordance with the law, while others saw significant progress, with salaries rising from 11,000 to 19,000 escudos, in addition to becoming part of the institution's staff.

With regard to officials hired after 2013, the president reiterated that the existing tenders "do not comply with the established rules", stressing that the current team does not discriminate nor is it unfair, but neither does it act illegally.

The president also clarified that, in addition to the 91 workers who have already benefited and who have started to receive under the new PCFR, there is a group of more than 100 employees hired after 2013 without a competitive examination, who do not meet the legal requirements for the transition.

As for the workers with precarious contracts, he said that the city council had already met with them, explaining the situation and the possibilities for their integration.

In this context, he revealed that around 90 employees meet the requirements for regularization and integration into the workforce, a process that is being developed in conjunction with the relevant government departments.

"We have already made an effort with 91 employees who are receiving under the new PCFR, and for the remaining 90 or so we are working so that the process progresses within the legal procedures," he concluded.