When he announced an increase in Portugal’s minimum wage to €705 on November 9, Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa appeared to be gunning for election victory. But behind the fanfare is the truth that almost nobody can survive on €705 per month, Portugal Resident reports.
Rather than a line in the sand for workers to look back at to see how far they have come, a ‘minimum salary’ is is more of a snare; one that has almost 70 per cent of the country’s workforce shackled to a form of working poverty.
Complaints that ‘labour is hard to find these days’ must be offset against the fact that since the PS Socialist government seized power in 2015, Portugal’s average wage has increased by only 10.1 per cent.
The minimum salary, however, has increased by 39.6 per cent - the reason it is seen as a winning election campaign tool - but it is still a mere €705 a month.
Economist Eugénio Rosa - an advisor to the CGTP - doesn’t mince his words. He says Portugal is transforming into a country of minimum salaries. The ‘salarial distortion’ is seeing to it that the national minimum wage “represents an increasingly high proportion of the average salary”.
In short, there are more and more people receiving no more than the national minimum wage.
Mr Rosa explains, “There has been enormous political concern in recent year in increasing the national minimum wage, neglecting to update the wages of more qualified workers. This is causing strong distortions in the country and transforming Portugal into a place in which ever-more workers receive only the minimum wage, or a salary very close to it”.
IEFP (the institute of employment and professional training) currently has a list of over 150 job vacancies on its site, aimed at civil engineers, electro technicians, mechanics, agronomists “and others”. However, the “crushing majority of salaries offered” vary between €750 and €1,000.
“How can the country hope to retain qualified people”, Eugénio Rosa said, “without qualified workers, economic growth and the development of the country will be unrealistic”.
The government’s ‘plan’ is reportedly to decide Portugal 2030 funding at the Council of Ministers on November 11 and then put the strategy out for citizens’ public consultation next week.
Source: Portugal Resident
(Quotes via original reporting)
When he announced an increase in Portugal’s minimum wage to €705 on November 9, Portugal’s Prime Minister António Costa appeared to be gunning for election victory. But behind the fanfare is the truth that almost nobody can survive on €705 per month, Portugal Resident reports.
Rather than a line in the sand for workers to look back at to see how far they have come, a ‘minimum salary’ is is more of a snare; one that has almost 70 per cent of the country’s workforce shackled to a form of working poverty.
Complaints that ‘labour is hard to find these days’ must be offset against the fact that since the PS Socialist government seized power in 2015, Portugal’s average wage has increased by only 10.1 per cent.
The minimum salary, however, has increased by 39.6 per cent - the reason it is seen as a winning election campaign tool - but it is still a mere €705 a month.
Economist Eugénio Rosa - an advisor to the CGTP - doesn’t mince his words. He says Portugal is transforming into a country of minimum salaries. The ‘salarial distortion’ is seeing to it that the national minimum wage “represents an increasingly high proportion of the average salary”.
In short, there are more and more people receiving no more than the national minimum wage.
Mr Rosa explains, “There has been enormous political concern in recent year in increasing the national minimum wage, neglecting to update the wages of more qualified workers. This is causing strong distortions in the country and transforming Portugal into a place in which ever-more workers receive only the minimum wage, or a salary very close to it”.
IEFP (the institute of employment and professional training) currently has a list of over 150 job vacancies on its site, aimed at civil engineers, electro technicians, mechanics, agronomists “and others”. However, the “crushing majority of salaries offered” vary between €750 and €1,000.
“How can the country hope to retain qualified people”, Eugénio Rosa said, “without qualified workers, economic growth and the development of the country will be unrealistic”.
The government’s ‘plan’ is reportedly to decide Portugal 2030 funding at the Council of Ministers on November 11 and then put the strategy out for citizens’ public consultation next week.
Source: Portugal Resident
(Quotes via original reporting)