Two proposals by left-wing parties PCP and BE to immediately increase the national minimum wage from €485 to €515 were rejected in Parliament by the PSD/CDS-PP coalition party.
A member from the communist party PCP said that the proposal was essential to promote “social justice” while a BE member said “social inequality” was evident in Portugal when it came to salaries.
A PSD representative acknowledged the issue’s importance but said the topic should be discussed “in due time” after it has been subject to scrutiny at meetings between the government and labour market groups (trade unions and entrepreneurs), an opinion shared by the CDS-PP.
The proposal received favourable votes from the opposition parties, including the government’s main opposition party PS, which said however that the matter should be subject to further examination.
“Who knows? Maybe there will be suggestions for the minimum salary to be higher than €515. This is not a subject for Parliament to decide on unilaterally,” said PS politician Nuno Sá.
