LISBON: The secretary-general of the UGT, Portugal’s second largest trade union federation, has said that it intends in September to propose that the minimum monthly salary be increased to “about” €522.
The minimum wage has stood at €505 since last October, when it was increased from €485 with the agreement of the UGT and employer confederations; the larger CGTP trade union federation refused to sign the deal, saying the figure was too low. Before that, the minimum salary had been frozen since 2011.
“He foresaw €52 – perhaps the UGT will propose a little more,” Silva said, adding: “We’ll analyse this, but it will be around that.”Silva said he did not want to put forward “exorbitant amounts” to avoid business leaders stepping up and saying “don’t even think of it” – resulting in a sterile debate with “no results at all”.
