Human Resources
The Chamber’s administration has considered programs to improve the quality of life for its workers as a top priority. The programs had a beneficial impact on the quality of the civil servants’ work. The qualification of the professional body of the institution is a basic condition to broaden the Parliament’s opportunities to discuss issues of national and international relevance with the different groups of the Brazilian society. It is necessary to keep in mind that, besides the specific discussions that are inherent to the legislative process, many conferences, seminars and other events take place in the Chamber premises.
In September 2001, the Committee on the Management of Human Resources was created. That Committee developed into the introduction of the Human Resources Head Office of the Chamber of Deputies. The Human Resources Head Office intends to start a new management policy and promote the modernization of the Chamber Human Resources. The “Minds at Work” program, for instance, which stimulates ideas and projects generated by the workers of the Chamber to the benefit of the society and the institution, has increased the participation of the Chamber civil servants in the management, sharing knowledge, creating and modernizing the institution. The need to deal with the complex problems which show up in the Parliament routine and require informed and dynamic decisions from the institution members makes this approach essential.
If the access to information in the society today is essential to the development of all countries, the Chamber of Deputies has invested human and financial resources on the development of computer programs and computer systems to disseminate legislative information, with the help of the Center for Computer Science (CENIN). Such programs are very successful and some of them were made available, free of charge, to other branches of government. For instance, the Stenography System (SITAQ), used to register and make short-hand notes public was made available to the Superior Court of Justice (STJ), which adopted it under the name of SISTAQ.
The Chamber is on a top position in the Federal Public Administration. It is an example of good public management and a model to other federal public institutions in Brazil and in other countries. The efforts to make better services to the Brazilian society are continuous. The initiatives that include partnerships with other countries are also remarkable, and they show that the Brazilian Legislative Process and the Administrative Units that support all its purposes and actions are a role model to other Parliaments around the world.
