Zema defended the use of the National Employment System (Sine) and municipal social assistance departments to monitor job offers intended for beneficiaries of social programs
The pre-candidate for President of the Republic, Romeu Zema (Novo-MG), stated that it intends to tighten the rules for income transfer programs and condition the maintenance of social benefits on the acceptance of formal jobs by the beneficiaries.
Zema said he does not intend to extinguish social programs, but criticized what he classified as growth in dependence on government aid.
“Social programs are extremely important. We will maintain them for those who need them. But we know that there is a lot of fraud that I will combat and I will also not pay government aid to the big guys. We are creating a generation of good-for-nothings in Brazil. I go to cities in the interior of Brazil and see the same thing: vacancies with a formal contract and big guys at home, on the internet, on social media, on Netflix, who prefer to receive government aid”, he said in an interview with the Canal Livre program.
According to the pre-candidate, there are cases of people who refuse formal employment to avoid losing social benefits. Zema defended the use of the National Employment System (Sine) and municipal social assistance departments to monitor job offers intended for beneficiaries of social programs. According to the proposal presented, anyone who refused a formal vacancy without justification could lose the benefit.
Asked about models adopted in European countries, the pre-candidate admitted the possibility of allowing the refusal of the first job offer, but defended that acceptance became mandatory after a second offer.
“The objective is to ensure that public resources reach those who really need them and do not serve as a disincentive to the formal job market,” he stated.
