Lisbon, Oct. 1, 2024 (Lusa) - The Portuguese government and social partners (trade unions and employers) will sign the new tripartite agreement on wage enhancement and economic growth for 2025-2028 on Tuesday at the Social Dialogue Council.
The ceremony will be chaired by the prime minister and is scheduled for 10am at the headquarters of the Economic and Social Council in the Belem district of Lisbon.
In addition to Luís Montenegro and the social partners, the minister of labour, solidarity and social security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, who chairs the Standing Committee on Social Dialogue, will be present.
On Monday, the Confederation of Commerce and Services of Portugal (CCP) announced at the end of the day that it would sign the agreement, despite considering that it "falls short of the expectations and needs of companies".
For the confederation led by João Vieira Lopes, "a broader agreement would have been more useful" for companies, particularly in terms of taxation, changes to labour legislation and administrative simplification.
According to the initial proposal for the new agreement, which was presented to the employers and trade unions at the tripartite discussions with the government last Wednesday and to which Lusa had access, the government is proposing increases of €50 a year for the minimum wage over the next four years, culminating in a minimum guaranteed salary of €1,020 in 2028.
For next year, the government is proposing that the guaranteed minimum wage should rise to €870 gross, an increase of 6.1% compared to the current €820 and €15 more than the amount provided for in the current income agreement (€855), then rise to €920 in 2026 (an increase of 5.7%), to €970 in 2027 (an increase of 5.4%) and to €1,020 in 2028 (+5.2%).
As for the benchmark for the overall average increase in salaries (discussed in collective bargaining), in this first proposal, the executive maintains the figures set out in the agreement signed by the previous government (4.7% in 2025 and 4.6% in 2026). For 2027 and 2028, since the idea is for the new agreement to cover the entire legislature (the current one only runs until 2026), it is 4.5% in each of these years. With this trajectory, the aim is for the average salary to reach €1,886.29 in 2028.
The initial proposal also includes the possibility of an exemption from IRS (income tax) and TSU (social security contributions) on productivity bonuses, "up to an amount equal to or less than 6% of the worker's annual basic salary", as provided for in the government programme. Even so, the government wants to impose some conditions, namely in terms of permanent salary increases.
In terms of taxation, the initial proposal provides for a "progressive reduction in the corporate income tax rate until 2028, falling from the current 21% to 19% in 2025" and a "reduction in the personal income tax (IRS) rates applied to young people up to the age of 35".
These measures have, in fact, been one of the points of contention with the opposition Socialist Party (PS). On Friday, the leader of the PS warned that these are red lines for the possibility of the PS voting in favour of the 2025 state budget bill.
On the other hand, the government's initial proposal also includes an "annual reduction in the autonomous taxation applied to corporate income tax over the next four years, reaching a reduction of 20% in 2028".
Meanwhile, the government has sent a new document to the social partners, which should contain some changes to the initial proposal, according to the Jornal de Negócios newspaper.
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