With inflation constantly rising, a number of countries have begun to take measures to limit the impact of rising prices on incomes of citizens, and some companies have already announced emergency support for workers.
State support provided by various governments ranges from tax cuts, in particular on electricity and gas, to discounts on fuel and public transport, or direct cash transfers to citizens. In Portugal, family support amounts to a total of 2,400 million euros.
As for companies, some of them – nationally and internationally – are also announcing exceptional support for their employees to ease financial strain at a time when Portugal’s inflation reached 10.2% in October, the highest since May 1992. of the year.
Association of Professional Vine Growers of the Douro (Prodouro)
On October 14, the Douro Association of Professional Winemakers (Prodouro) proposed to extend to private companies the possibility of providing workers with emergency support in accordance with the government’s decree, “equally” exempt from the IRS and social security.
“We are inspired by this good example that the government has given, and what we are going to do is present a proposal to expand this support for companies. Allow private companies to pay their employees on an exceptional basis, up to the maximum amount of tax-exempt wages,” Prodouro president Rui Soares told Lusa.
The Association has a total of 96 members, including independent winemakers, bottlers and cooperative wineries, covering 5,075 hectares of vineyards.
Specifically, Prodouro is proposing to the government to “enable private companies until December 20 to process income replacement wage support equal to one month’s wages on the same financial terms as the announced exceptional support.” government, in which it has released €125 support and a supplement to pensions, withholding, income tax advances and social security contributions.”
According to Rui Soares, some of the companies Prodouro consulted “found the idea very good”: “Reviews were very positive.
bankinter
On October 3, the Portuguese branch of Bankinter, a Spanish bank, put forward a series of support measures, such as increasing food allowances and paying social benefits to its employees.
“Given the current economic situation and specifically in relation to its employees, Bankinter has prepared a number of specific support measures aimed at mitigating the effects of the general price increase, with the full payment of the social pass or an increase in the lunch allowance. (from 3.5 euros per day to 14 euros) examples of emergency measures already implemented during the initial period of six months, with a reassessment to be carried out after this time, ”a bank official told Lusa.
On the other hand, “home office day has been introduced in the central areas. [teletrabalho]with the advantage of helping to reduce transport costs by 20% and having a positive impact also in terms of sustainability,” the bank said in a statement.
The agency stressed that, as part of sustainability measures, “it is in the process of replacing its fleet with electric and hybrid vehicles, recently reviewing the fuel or electricity ceilings set for employees in commercial functions, in the context of high energy prices in this context”, Bankinter said.
The Bank emphasized that it “maintains its commitment to being closer to its customers and its employees in order to constantly assess the measures that are appropriate to implement in accordance with macroeconomic and social changes.”
Santander Totta
In an internal note sent to the bank’s employees, signed by executive committee chairman Pedro Castro e Almeida and Sara da Fonseca of the Gestão de Pessoas, which Lusa had access to on October 13, Santander said that workers earning up to 30,000 euros a year would receive “an extraordinary and additional payment” of 750 euros this month as part of the measures approved by the bank to combat price increases.
In the note, Santander says that “he is following the evolution of the economic situation in the country and in the world with natural concern” and is aware that “increasing inflation and energy costs are affecting the family budget of many “collaborators”.
As such, Santander decided to “put in place some financial support measures to help minimize this impact”, focusing on helping “the lowest paid employees by paying a single amount against interest to make this support more relevant”. .
In addition to this payment, Santander has decided to give all employees the opportunity in 2023 to advance up to 50% of the Christmas allowance.
The bank also increased the credit limit available to employees to EUR 200,000 in new lending operations and expanded access to other measures such as 50% reimbursement of social ticket costs or support for tuition fees of EUR 310 per year per child. or stepson.
The National Union of Banking Staff and Technicians (SNQTB) and the Independent Banking Union (SIB) welcomed this support but argued that it should be “much more comprehensive”.
According to the unions, the announced “emergency and additional payment” of 750 euros “should cover all workers” and not just “about 51%” provided for in its current version, which is only for workers with wages up to 30 euros. thousand euros per year.
In turn, “the extension of the ACT housing credit limit to 200,000 euros should also apply to outstanding loans” and “the possibility of transferring mortgage loans to the “ceiling” of a housing loan should be considered.”
In addition, the unions say that “the interest rate applied to the purchase of permanent housing (HPP) should also be protected from changes in the ECB interest rate. [Banco Central Europeu] and subsequent implications for Euribor values.”
In a communiqué released at the time, SNQTB and SIB also said they expected “other banks to take the inflation mitigation and cost-of-living measures proposed” by the two unions.
Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe (MFTE)
In September, as reported by the ECO newspaper, about 500 workers at the Mitsubishi Fuso Truck Europe (MFTE) truck plant, located in Tramagal (Abrantes), received an emergency payment of 400 euros.
“We have made an emergency payment of 400 euros, including all employees and even trainees,” Arne Barden, the plant’s executive president, told the newspaper.
The Daimler Trucks-owned company, located 150 kilometers from Lisbon, said it intends to “adjust wages sensibly” because “you can’t just distribute money anyway.”
With a turnover of over 206 million euros in 2021, MFTE claims to be the world leader in the heavy duty vehicle market and includes seven brands: Mercedes-Benz, FUSO, Setra, BharatBenz, Freightliner, Western Star and Thomas Built Buses.
autoeurope
Autoeuropa has not announced any support for its employees, but the Car Manufacturer’s Working Committee (CT) demanded on October 21 an emergency 5% increase in December, retroactive from July, to allow lost purchasing power to be regained. .
“We think this is a fair offer in response to what was in the context of the negotiations and what actually happened in regards to rising inflation,” CT Autoeuropa coordinator Rogerio Nogueira told Lusa.
“The company has all the conditions for an extraordinary increase in wages, since the volume of production [em 2022] will definitely be much higher than what was originally planned. And this achievement is due to the workers who deserve compensation,” defended a representative of the workers of the Volkswagen car plant in Palmela, Setúbal district.
In addition to the emergency 5% increase in December, the proposal presented by CT to company management also provides for a further 2% pay update from January 2023, as stipulated in the Company Agreement (AE).
Under the proposal, this 2% salary update should also be added to the inflation rate confirmed this year, minus a 5% emergency increase that Autoeuropa CT intends to pay as early as December next year.
airbus
Airbus announced in November a €1,500 bonus to employees worldwide to offset rising inflation in Germany, France, Spain and the UK, where the group has the largest industrial presence.
Sources from a European aircraft manufacturer told Spanish agency EFE on October 25 that the allowance would be paid to 120,000 Airbus employees worldwide, but the amount would not be the same in other countries as it is calculated as a percentage of the base local average salary.
It is also expected that young workers will alternate between training and internships at the company, the purpose of which is to help offset, in the short term, the impact of inflation on workers’ loss of purchasing power.
The prize to be awarded does not change the wage negotiation processes carried out in each country. In France, for example, an agreement was signed last March that provides for an increase of 6.8% for 2022-2023 as a whole and will be reviewed next March.
The cost of this measure, around 200 million euros, will be reflected in Airbus’ accounts.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Tifany Hawkins, a professional journalist with years of experience in news reporting. I currently work for a prominent news website and write articles for 24NewsReporters as an author. My primary focus is on economy-related stories, though I am also experienced in several other areas of journalism.