A medium-term agreement to boost income, wages and competitiveness was signed this Sunday afternoon without CGTP approval. The social partners welcomed the agreement but considered some of the measures to be insufficient.
Prime Minister António Costa stressed this afternoon that this is an “agreement of greater political importance” and that it provides for “balance the distribution of wealth on a national scale, increasing social justice in our country.”
The agreement provides for the “arrival by 2026 with a weight of wages in the national wealth set identical to the European average”, i.e. “growth from 45.3% in 2019 to 48.3% in 2026”.
Regarding the national minimum wage, the agreement also proposes in stages, with the goal of reaching €760 in 2023 and €900 in 2026, maintaining the purchasing power of workers and “securing the growth trajectory started in 2016,” the document says.
To strengthen the family budget, there are several key points, including updating the IRS scale and increasing the amount paid to employees for overtime work. Another of the goals is “creating conditions for strengthening the competitiveness of companies and increasing labor productivity,” the document explains.
“Small and medium-sized companies, which today use an IRC rate of 17% based on their turnover, in the event of a merger, will retain the 17% rate, even if their turnover from the merger exceeds the established limits. “At this rate,” Antonio Costa explained this Sunday.
A drop in IRC is also expected for companies that raise wages and invest in research and development.
The support measures also target young people, assessing the most qualified “in terms of creating the conditions to attract this new generation to the labor market and so that they can build their life projects in Portugal” and “increasing the annual IRS allowance for youth. up to 50% in the first year. One of the measures with the greatest impact is the strengthening of electricity and gas supply systems worth more than three billion euros to curb energy prices.
Following the signing of the agreement, the Council of Ministers approved the draft state budget for 2023, which will be presented to Parliament on Monday and discussed as a whole on 26 and 27 October.
Author: morning Post
Source: CM Jornal
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