The decision of the (Supreme Federal Court) that of the Judiciary and the Public Ministry ended up recreating a benefit that had been extinguished for 20 years within the scope of the Union.
The so-called five-year period, which grants one year for every five years, was abolished by an amendment to the Constitution approved by the National Congress at the end of 2003, in the first term of the president (PT). The extinction came into effect in 2006, after the regulation of the STF minister’s allowance and resolution of the CNJ (National Council of Justice).
Now, the unanimously endorsed thesis reintroduces this additional amount for length of service, paving the way for federal judges and prosecutors to receive the extra funding, which could reach 35% of their remuneration.
Considering the current salary ceiling for civil servants, of R$46,366.19, this means that the STF validated an additional portion that could reach R$16,228.16 — not counting compensation funds, which could reach another 35%.
The argument made by ministers in favor of the thesis is that many state courts already pay these additional payments. However, the benefit for length of service had been extinguished within the Union. As the decision applies to all spheres, in practice it recreates the five-year period at the federal level.
To conclude, the ministers met for lunch before the session to present a consensual proposal in the plenary.
The court’s verdict was received with concern by the Lula government. Although the rule approved by the STF is temporary, the Executive already foresees not only difficulties in reversing the benefit, but also pressure from other federal careers to obtain the same type of treatment.
Since 2023, the Executive has had to act several times in Congress to block the advancement of a PEC (proposed amendment to the Constitution) sponsored by the then president of , (-MG), whose central objective was to recreate the five-year period.
The proposal was for the approval of a bill against pendulicamentos in public administration, a flag defended by the Lula government and which did not advance in the Legislature due to resistance from parliamentarians and pressure from the affected categories, including the Judiciary.
The paralysis of this issue in Congress was precisely what opened space for the STF to enter the discussion, with injunctions that suspended the issues and led to this Wednesday’s trial (25).
The approved thesis states that, until the ordinary law regulating the remuneration ceiling is enacted by the National Congress, only the portions listed in the decision may form part of the remuneration of the judiciary and the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
One of them is the “appreciation portion based on seniority in the career”, an additional 5% for every five years of effective legal activity, respecting the maximum of 35%. Payment will be due to both active and retired members, “upon application and approval.”
The inclusion of this item caused surprise and outrage in the government, which has always positioned itself against the resumption of the five-year period.
In her statement, Minister Cármen Lúcia, from the STF, said that she would follow the thesis, but highlighted that “this should be created by law, because a law proposal has already been proposed in the sense of this ATS [adicional por tempo de serviço]”.
According to the judge, the ceiling, until then, meant the value of the remuneration of Supreme Court ministers, which no longer exists.
“The ceiling is not the subsidy anymore, because we are saying that in addition to the ceiling, in the form established in the Constitution, these compensation installments will be able to be adopted”, he said.
In the debate, Cármen Lúcia stated that the Supreme Court’s decision was made to resolve issues of inequality in workload between magistrates, for example.
“The structural solution found was to see what can still be considered legitimate.”
In recent years, some courts have already been circumventing the extinction of the five-year period, even without the approval of the PEC. In 2024, the TST (Superior Labor Court) determined the payment of the additional payment for length of service, with retroactive effects to 2006 and payment of interest and monetary correction. At the same time, the penduricalho.
