Source: Correio Braziliense - Brasília / DF - COLUMNS - 05/08/2010

Family Bag

The report “Early to celebrate” (1/8, page 14) contains inaccuracies regarding the participation of Bolsa Família beneficiaries in the formal labor market. In it, the director of the Brazilian Institute of Ethics in Competition (ETCO), André Franco Montoro Filho, states that “whoever receives [the Bolsa Família benefit] loses his right if he gets a formal job”. The Ministry of Social Development and Fight Against Hunger (MDS) clarifies that the statement is incorrect. There is (and never has been) any program rule that prevents beneficiaries from working in the formal market. The benefits of the program are complementary, not a substitute for income, and, therefore, the work of the beneficiaries is expected and encouraged. MDS indicators point to an increase in the number of beneficiaries in the formal labor market, which reveals that beneficiaries have also taken advantage of the expansion of formal employment in Brazil.

»João Luiz Mendes, MDS NR Press Officer: The report sought to show that, when obtaining a formal job, the family's income tends to exceed the minimum amount of R $ 140 per person, a criterion used to determine who has it or not right to Bolsa Família. Thus, it opens a gap for the person to prefer informal employment, which, without the possibility of proof of income, allows the continued receipt of both their own salary and Bolsa Família.