The cut is aimed at making it possible for the government, trade unions and employer organisations to reach an agreement on 22 February to both increasethe minimum wage step by step over the next few years and reduce the social security contributions, though without the agreement of the CGTP, the largest union federation.
The proposed accord “is beneficial for workers, because it has a salary increase, it’s beneficial for companies because it achieves a higher level of industrial peace and support to be able to absorb this increase, and it’s good for the public accounts, in that it translates into an increase in revenues for social security,” said the minister, José António Vieira da Silva.
According to António Saraiva, the president of the main employers’ federation, the CIP, “this new text makes possible the basis of an accord” and the organisation is ready to “ratify” it at the 22 February meeting.
The UGT trade union federation also welcomed the proposed deal, while the CGTP expressed its “profound disagreement”, saying that the government had yielded to employer pressure.
On 23 December, the government approved an increase in the minimum wage to €530 a month from 1 January, before any agreement had been reached with employers and unions. It had proposed that the wage be raised in steps to €600 by 2019.