The decree that regulates access to judicial staff careers and allows promotions to higher categories was published this Wednesday in the Official Gazette. This publication represents a union demand that aims to unblock the opening of competitions, resulting from an agreement between unions and the Ministry of Justice concluded in April and promulgated by the President of the Republic on September 2, following warnings from the Judicial Staff Union (SFJ) about the possibility of returning to struggle and strikes.
The decree falls under the revision of the Justice Staff Statutes, a process that has been underway for two years, and is necessary to open entry and career promotion competitions. However, there is no indication from the ministry about when and how many vacancies may be launched, as they depend on authorization from the Ministry of Finance. According to the president of SFJ, Regina Soares, the publication of an ordinance with requirements, calculation formulas and concrete procedures is still pending for the promotions to materialize.
The president of SFJ highlighted two important achievements: professionals without a degree who are already in practice are not excluded from promotions, being able to compete on equal terms with their qualified colleagues, and access to promotion is now possible after 12 years of seniority instead of the 16 years initially proposed by the Government. Regina Soares also warned that more than 90% of leadership positions are in an acting capacity, which weakens human resource management and leadership roles.
The union points to a deficit of between 1,900 and 2,000 judicial officers in the courts, with an average of one retirement per day. Regina Soares hopes that the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Finance will commit to hiring at least 500 to 600 people this year. The SFJ will meet again with the ministry on September 21 to continue negotiations on the revision of the statutes, with the evaluation regime for judicial staff on the agenda.
