Penduricalhos guaranteed ministers of the TST (Superior Labor Court) net income of up to R$419 thousand in December, according to data from .
Although payments of extra funds to magistrates have reached enormous amounts in different instances of the Judiciary across the country, the amounts received in the labor court stand out among the higher courts — and with benefits that extend to almost all of its members.
Of the 27 TST ministers, 26 received remuneration in excess of R$250,000 net in December. The average per judge, including discounts, reached R$357 thousand — in gross values, R$514 thousand.
The calculation includes a fixed salary (fixed and monthly remuneration for magistrates, which does not reach R$ 42 thousand), retroactive payments and benefits such as allowances and assistance, after social security deductions, Income Tax and retention under the constitutional ceiling (corresponding to R $44 thousand).
Payroll data is contained in a panel maintained by the CNJ based on information provided by the courts themselves.
The one who topped the ranking for net income in the period was minister Sergio Pinto Martins, who obtained R$419 thousand livres (or R$533 thousand gross). Based on gross income, it was the vice-president of the court, Mauricio Godinho Delgado (R$ 394 thousand net and just over R$ 706 thousand gross).
The exception in the TST that did not obtain free gains in the range of hundreds of thousands of reais was Antônio Fabrício de Matos Gonçalves. Sworn in in July 2024, he pocketed R$102 thousand gross and R$83 thousand net in December.
In , the highest remuneration for a minister in the period was R$ 119 thousand net. According to data from the panel, the December average among court magistrates was R$88,000. In the STM (Superior Military Court), the largest amount reached R$ 318 thousand — and the average, R$ 286 thousand.
The STM says that the ministers’ remuneration was above the normal monthly salary due to compensation payments from previous years.
Amounts were paid relating to, for example, advance Christmas bonuses, early holiday remuneration and constitutional third of holidays, in addition to occasional rights, including compensatory leave, bonuses for cumulative exercise of jurisdiction and funds from previous years.
When contacted, the STJ said it would not comment on the issue.
The funds of TST ministers were increased by items under the umbrella of “occasional rights”, including a constitutional allowance of one third of vacations, early vacations and Christmas bonuses.
But, in general, none were greater than retroactive payments. The sum that makes up Minister Delgado’s gross remuneration, before discounts, reached R$536 thousand. In the case of Pinto Martins, it reached R$366 thousand.
According to the TST, the payment of retroactive amounts was previously authorized by the CNJ in procedures relating to , and the compensatory license.
The five-year period provides for an additional 5% for every five years of service up to a limit of 35%. Compensatory leave authorizes the conversion of days off into cash. Both are stalwarts of the Judiciary.
The basic remuneration of a TST minister corresponds to 95% of what a STF minister receives, the public service ceiling, but the amounts can exceed it.
Funds of an indemnity nature, such as compensatory license, are not included in the calculation of the ceiling. The five-year period, as it is remunerative in nature, is subject to it, but contributes to inflating income, considered the limit.
The court said that the amounts “are considered in the constitutional ceiling account when they have a remunerative nature, and the comparison with the constitutional ceiling is observed with reference to the competence to which the portion subject to payment refers”.
The CNJ did not answer whether it wanted to take a position on decisions that allow gains above the ceiling.
The executive director of the NGO Transparência Brasil, Juliana Sakai, says that approving payments such as the compensatory license is a “complete disaster” that could even contravene the Fiscal Responsibility Law.
“We were at a dead end,” she says. “The Judiciary, which should value legality, uses a series of mechanisms to challenge what is said in the Constitution, to challenge the constitutional ceiling.”
“And they are the ones who interpret the law,” continues Sakai. “What are we going to do if those responsible for defending the law are doing this job in their own corporate favor?”
One indicated that the compensatory license cost the Court R$819 million between July 2023, when the benefit began to be paid on a larger scale, and October 2024.
Economist André Perfeito says that penduricalhos give the impression that “Brazil is a country of pulls” and that there is no clarity about the public sector. Furthermore, for him, these remunerations create distortions in the economy.
“The Judiciary has to enter the discussion about State spending,” he says. “If the Judiciary’s objective is to bring more justice, perhaps it has to cut. The effectiveness of reais for social justice has to be better balanced.”
Felippe Angeli, lawyer and advocacy coordinator at , avoids qualifying whether the perks and remuneration of judges are reasonable or even justifiable given the functions they perform.
He states that the debate should focus on non-compliance with the ceiling and criticizes the conflict of interest in the approval of frills by the Judiciary itself. It says that, if the additional payments are used to circumvent the ceiling, there should be a specific limit for them.
In law, there is an expression called fumus boni iuris (smoke of good law), recalls Angeli. As it stands, he says, “I don’t see smoke from good law, I don’t see constitutional value, I don’t see justice.”
