The views of the social partners were passed on to journalists at the end of the social dialogue meeting, where the government presented a new proposal for the Income and Competitiveness Agreement, which will apply until 2026.
“We are probably closer to an agreement,” said UGT Secretary General Mário Mourão, adding that there is still “some work to do” during the bilateral meetings taking place on Friday.
On the business side, the president of CIP – Confederação Empresarial de Portugal, António Saraiva, believed the path of the negotiations was “evolutionary” and said he was “hopeful that there will be conditions” to sign the agreement, especially as he believes that “there will finally be a relief in the tax burden is for companies.
António Saraiva also said the government’s proposal for a 5.1% salary increase benchmark by 2023 will cost companies around €1,000 million a year, so without corporate tax measures it would be hard to bear.
The President of the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal (CTP), Francisco Calheiros, believed that from the first document to the document presented today, “very important steps have been taken” regarding the agreement.
“There are better terms today than last week” for an agreement, said Francisco Calheiros, who, however, criticized the way the process had gone, noting that the first proposal was presented on September 28 and that the government plans to close. the discussion “see you tomorrow” [sexta-feira]”.
The same criticism was expressed by the president of the Confederation of Trade and Services of Portugal (CCP), João Vieira Lopes, who stressed that he had “very serious doubts about the methodology used”.
“We don’t like the pressure being put” to sign an agreement for the legislature before the delivery of the proposed 2023 state budget, Vieira Lopes underlined, indicating he still doesn’t have a final position on whether he will sign the agreement. document.
The OE2023 proposal will be presented to parliament by the government on Monday.
The CGTP rejected the government’s proposal, saying it is “an additional reason for workers to take to the streets on the 15th”.
The government has today proposed to the social partners a benchmark to raise wages by 5.1% next year and 4.8% the year after, in line with the proposal on the medium-term agreement to improve incomes and competitiveness.
The national minimum wage should evolve from the current 705 euros to 760 euros in 2023.
Companies that increase salaries in line with agreed benchmarks will have positive differentiation in IRC.
Source: DN
