Florianópolis gives raw popcorn to social assistance staff on 28 October By Luís Henrique Costa
2 min read
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The Florianópolis City Hall is facing criticism after social assistance staff received a bag of raw popcorn kernels as a gift for Public Servant Day, celebrated on 28 October 2026. The package came with a motivational card and drew public complaints from city workers.
The Sindicato dos Trabalhadores no Serviço Público Municipal de Florianópolis (Sintrasem) made the case public after receiving reports from staff in the department. According to the union, the gift clashes with the reality of teams that serve vulnerable residents in the capital of Santa Catarina.
Union says staff face shortages and poor working conditions
In a statement released on Thursday (29), the union said the department faces a staff deficit, structural gaps and overload in its service units. It argued that handing out corn grains shows the administration is distant from the labor demands of its technical staff.
Reactions also spread on social media, where servants and residents posted ironic comments. Many messages questioned offering a cheap raw input instead of concrete improvements to public careers.
City hall says the card message was the focus
City hall said the action did not come from a central order for all municipal employees. It was limited to workers assigned to the Social Assistance Secretariat, led by Secretary Zena Becker.
The administration said the main purpose of the gift was the text printed on the card. The message was written as a reflective parable about individual and collective change, with popcorn grains symbolizing the capacity to overcome difficulties and the energy needed for positive results in public policies.
Workers’ representatives pressed for the recomposition of the staff and immediate investment in operating conditions in social assistance. The union’s post listed missing investment, incomplete teams and poor working conditions as the problems it wants solved.
Florianópolis City Hall has also decreed optional hours (ponto facultativo) for Friday (30) October, because the city moved the Public Servant Day observance to that date. The Santa Catarina state government had already moved its own observance to Friday through a decree published on 27 January 2026, and essential municipal services will stay on duty shifts.
