Camila Penido is a public manager and current Technical Data Storage and Security Coordinator at Brazil’s National Petroleum Agency.

Recently I took a taxi in Rio de Janeiro and, while we were not getting to my destination, the driver shared with me one of his dear daughter's latest achievements: she had just passed a public exam and would soon become a public servant!

He, a very proud father, was happy but mostly relieved that "now she was on her way," and there would be no reason to worry about her daughter's future.

Getting a job in the public sector is the life goal for many Brazilians: in general, it means a stable job, with a salary that is higher than the average in Brazil, and with numerous benefits. According to World Bank studies, over the past twenty years, the number of federal civil servants has grown by more than 80 percent. As a result, personnel expenses increased considerably: in 2018 alone, the Brazilian state spent approximately 10% of gross domestic product (GDP) paying civil servants' salaries.

This has proven to be increasingly unsustainable. As a result, the government has advocated for an administrative reform that makes its management of people more efficient, bringing balance back in the public budgets. The question on many people’s mind is whether restructuring the public sector (the government’s HR) system can help bring down public spending and modernize the Brazilian state apparatus?

The times are a-changing

Since 2014, Brazil has been going through a period of economic, political and fiscal crisis that heralds major challenges for the Brazilian public service and the people who work in it.

According to data available on the website of the Ministry of Economy, the Brazilian government currently has 299 different careers and, in the last 10 years, wage increases have been higher than inflation. In addition, progression in the public service usually happens automatically and are not associated with increased productivity.

The Minister of Economy, Paulo Guedes, has already announced that the administrative reform is one of the government's top priorities and that proposals are being drafted which include, among other measures, the end of public career stability and dismissal due to low performance.

In a report released in October 2019, the World Bank outlined how the Brazilian public sector could be restructured. First, hundreds of careers with specific job positions make it difficult for public servants to change jobs. In addition, entry in the public service usually occurs at the beginning of one’s career and, due to the progression model, rewards unmotivated employees at the top of the career or people without the skills expected for the job.

Is this the end of the dream job?

Given these recommendations, the government is considering a remuneration system that reduces entry-level salaries ​​and fosters progression based on performance rather than length of service. The proposed new models are essentially based on the transformations in the European public service, especially with regard to the server-hiring model.

In the United Kingdom, for example, it is possible to hire qualified private sector professionals to enter the highest levels of public careers. Another country that has been a source of inspiration is Portugal. In 2008, the country carried out a successful administrative reform, which allowed it to reduce more than 1000 public careers into just three, and put an end to automatic progressions by length of service.

Will public service continue to be a dream job?

Although everyone agrees that administrative reform is inevitable in Brazil, it is necessary to point out a few key challenges.

Firstly, implementation will face resistance from trade unions and from part of society that sees in the civil service the opportunity for a stable and well-paid job. In addition, it is necessary to adapt the success stories of other countries to the complex Brazilian reality, considering the uniqueness of Brazil’s federal system.

Given the need for the government to control public spending, the public service will be undisputedly redesigned, which will lead to reduced benefits for public servants and the introduction of more modern performance appraisal models.

However, there is a doubt that these changes will be sufficient to make the Brazilian Public Administration more efficient. Another question: is this the end of the dream job? — Camila Penido

(Picture credit: Unsplash)