BRASILIA (Reuters) - Brazil's senate on Tuesday voted to raise salaries for court workers by as much as 78 percent over the next two years, pressuring government coffers at a time President Dilma Rousseff is trying to cut spending and attract investment.
Rousseff's government opposed the measure, and her planning ministry said it would cost 1.5 billion reais ($483 million) in 2015 and 25.7 billion reais over the next four years. Salary raises would depend on employee rank.
The extra expenditure would further threaten Finance Minister Joaquim Levy's efforts to shore up government accounts after years of heavy spending. Brazil is likely to miss its primary fiscal target this year, as government revenue falls.
The country is facing its worst economic recession in 25 years, thanks in part to a massive corruption scandal at state-run oil firm Petroleo Brasileiro SA.
The vote came as Rousseff travels in the United States, mending ties after a spying scandal and trying to lure private investment into seaports, railroads and other infrastructure.
($1 = 3.1 reais)
(Reporting by Maria Carolina Marcello; Writing by Caroline Stauffer; Editing by Ken Wills)
