Over the past year, the (National Land Transport Agency) has held meditation courses to reduce stress and a talk on happiness at work for its employees, in addition to hiring VIP classes for directors of the agency, which suffered budget cuts in 2024.
According to invoices obtained by the Panel, the lecture “Happiness at Work” was held on November 1st in celebration of Public Servants’ Day. The presentation to employees, remotely and in person, lasted 60 minutes and cost R$23,000.
A few months earlier, in August, a note was issued on behalf of the Vipassana Society, hired for R$40,000 to teach classes on stress reduction based on “mindfulness”.
The course, held from October to December, was administered in a face-to-face class with a workload of 23 hours, to be held over 8 weeks, for 35 people, and in another remote class with the same characteristics.
Between December 2023 and April 2024, the agency’s employees participated in a persuasive public speaking course at the National School of Public Speaking. The gross value was R$33,390.
The agency also hired an English course for executives for four directors — Guilherme Sampaio, Felipe Queiroz, Lucas Asfor and Luciano Lourenço da Silva. The contract term provides for the payment of R$50,912 in total.
Over the past year, the agency suffered budget cuts, amid the federal government’s need for fiscal adjustment. ANTT’s initial allocation of discretionary resources — used for funding and investments — was R$331.5 million at the beginning of 2024, a value that fell to R$289.4 million.
Other side
When contacted, the agency informed that the courses and lectures mentioned are part of initiatives to train employees and promote well-being in the workplace.
“Language and public speaking courses are essential to meet the demands of the agency, which carries out international cooperation and represents Brazil in global discussions”, he indicated.
“Actions aimed at mental health and happiness at work reflect concern for the well-being of employees, essential for the productivity and quality of public service.”
According to ANTT, last year 27% of employee absences were related to emotional or emotional problems, “and, considering the total number of days of absence, these issues represented 47% of the total number of days away, reinforcing the importance of initiatives that promote mental health.”
“ANTT reinforces that all investments are planned with fiscal responsibility and in accordance with the public budget.”
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