This Saturday the government presented confirmation of the income increase agreement agreed with the social partners, which provides for a wage increase to €820 in 2024, but does not take into account CGTP and CIP.
At a press conference, António Costa stressed that the agreement “consolidates wage increases and increases the competitiveness of companies”, creating “confidence for economic agents, more qualified and fairly paid jobs.” According to the head of government, this is a “medium- and long-term agreement”, but “dynamic”.
The Prime Minister noted “record levels of employment” and was pleased with the level of investment by companies, “despite uncertainty and rising interest rates.”
The agreement reached results in an increase in the IRC’s payment of the benchmark value set for qualified youth. But António Costa mentioned another measure that does not stem from the agreement, namely salary compensation of 697 euros for each year of undergraduate study and 1,500 euros for each year of master’s study.
The head of administration gave a positive assessment of the first year of the agreement. “Companies have increased workers’ salaries beyond what we have determined,” he stressed, highlighting the “virtuous alliance between the state and companies to retain talent in Portugal.”
The Prime Minister once again criticized the European Central Bank’s policy of raising interest rates, saying it was reducing business investment and creating difficulties for those with mortgages.
And he recalled that “most loans in Portugal, unlike what happens in other countries, have been issued at variable rates, and over the past 15 years at historically low interest rates.”
Finally, António Costa promised to strengthen the response to the needs of the agricultural sector through a new aid package and announced the creation of a task force led by the Secretary of State for administrative modernization in the first half of 2024. , to speed up the implementation of what is missing in the agreement.