How will the queue reduction task force work?
Official data shows a harsh reality for thousands of Brazilians. benefit entry queue from the National Institute of Social Security (INSS) in January of this year, it increased once again. In this way, the new federal government begins its administration under pressure to solve the problem.
Citizens who apply for INSS benefits and are waiting for an answer form the queue. Although there is no decision, such individuals have to wait without getting any help. Those who are ill, for example, cannot earn money from work or INSS until a decision is made.
It is in this sense that The federal government is preparing a kind of mutirao in several regions of the country. It is the idea of the Ministry of Social Security concentrate the procedure in places where the longest queues are recorded. The North-Eastern region should be in the center of attention at this first moment.
In an interview with O Globo newspaper, Minister of Social Security Carlos Lupi (PDT) spoke about the topic. According to him, the majority of the queue is made up of people who are waiting for a medical examination. So he should focus on mutirões in this very type of service.
“My challenge is the medical examination, the queue for which is very long. There are 661,000 in the queue in the North East alone – 50% of our queue. There are 473,000 in the BPC queue, and 574,000 for sickness benefits. In other words, almost a million depends on the expertise. That’s why my mutirão project,” said Carlos Lupi.
How mutirões should work
In the same interview, Lupi said that the task force will mainly consist of moving medical experts to areas where there are not many consultations. According to him, this process can contribute to reducing the queue.
“I am going to transfer the experts from the northeastern capitals to the interior, where the queue is the biggest. We are in final arrangements to start this month. The temporary measure that allows the bonus is about to go out at any moment. The bonus helps because it’s a way to encourage the expert to move.”
He also admitted that the queue itself should not be reset. “It will never end. The eligibility parameter is a waiting period of up to 45 days. With joint efforts and payment of bonuses, I intend to (achieve) it by the end of the year.”
Beyond the line
Although he says the ministry has a priority on reducing the queues at NSS, Lupi also said in the interview that he will focus on other fronts. Among other points, he insisted that it is necessary to change the points of the recent social security reforms.
“I think the change in pension and disability pension rules is one of the most serious reforms. When a woman loses her partner, the expenses do not decrease, they increase up to 30 percent.”
“It is serious, because a person receives 60 percent of what her husband receives, there is a sharp decline in the purchasing power of the family. The decrease in the value of the disability pension is also a very serious problem. I have been to the central centers of all trade unions, and changing that (position) is almost unanimous among them,” he said.
