Governor Tarcisio de Freitas (Republicans) was punished on the 3rd Law that encourages changes in the profession of scientific researchers. APqC (Association of Scientific Researchers of São Paulo State) opposes the changes and says it intends to challenge them in court.
Supplementary Law No. 1435/2025 was approved by the São Paulo Legislative Assembly on October 14. The text, drafted by the government itself, amends Supplementary Law No. 125 of 1975, which created and established rules for professions in the state.
According to the Tarcisio administration, the restructuring aims to modernize and enhance the professional life of scientific researchers, “with clear and worthy promotion and advancement criteria.” The changes affect staff at 15 institutes, including Adolfo Lutz, Pasteur and Butantan.
According to the state administration, there are 901 active researchers in the state.
APqC claims that the law was created without dialogue or input from researchers. “For APqC, this action represents a direct attack on public research in São Paulo, which has been built over decades on a strong and transparent profession of technical merit,” the entity said in a statement.
The Tarcisio government, in turn, says that the law was drawn up by “an intersecretariat technical group, based on an open, comprehensive and constructive dialogue with researchers.”
What changes?
Under the new structure, researchers will be paid under a support system, set at a single value that varies depending on level and category. Today, pay in the scientific profession consists of a base salary plus bonuses and benefits.
According to APqC, the changes reduce the value of researchers’ wages over time, while the Tarcisio government states that the model guarantees an increase in researchers’ wages for 82.4% of them.
The text also stipulates the end of the full-time work system, specified by Law No. 10.4477 of 1957. Employees under this system must devote themselves fully to the work of their job or job, especially what is related to scientific research. However, the new law provides for an exclusive gifting system, which will require its regulation by decree.
The Tarcisio government says this is just a change in nomenclature, and that the rules remain the same in practice, “that is, researchers cannot undertake any other paid activity outside the institution.”
The text of Law No. 1,435/2025 states that the system of civil servants with a scientific profession will no longer be subject to the law of 1957. The rules established by Law No. 10,261 of 1968, which regulate the legal system of civil servants in São Paulo, will enter into force.
The APqC says the change brings unprecedented legal uncertainty and that the full-time working system ensures that “the actions of research, teaching, technological development and innovation are not separated for the benefit of the population”.
With the end of the full-time employment system, the full-time permanent body is abolished. It will be replaced by the Permanent Performance Evaluation and Career Development Committee, whose responsibilities, work and constitution will be regulated by decree.
This measure also aroused dissatisfaction with the group, according to which the new committee will lose its role as implementer. For example, in the new text, the word “implementation” was dropped to deal with the selection process for entry into the research profession, leaving only the terms “organization” and “plan.”
The government says it will regulate “the form, duties and work of the Permanent Committee for Performance Evaluation and Development.”
The Tarcísio administration also states that the project “does not change the current composition nor the general responsibilities of the committee responsible for evaluation and career development,” but only amends the nomenclature and updates the wording.
Furthermore, the new law creates a subdivision that results in 18 career stages for researchers, instead of just six. APqC says this makes progress slower and makes a career less attractive. The Tarcisio government claims that these measures make career progression fairer and more gradual.
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