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Minimum wage rises to 705 euros per month
Minimum wage rises to 705 euros per month
From 1 January 2022
O Council of Ministers approved the increase of the statutory minimum wage to EUR 705 as of 1 January 2022, after having heard the social partners sitting on the Standing Committee on Social Dialogue.
The Government has included in its programme the objective of deepening, within the framework of the negotiation in the context of social concertation, the actual update of the statutory minimum wage, in a phased, predictable and sustained manner, to reach EUR 750 in 2023.
While the Covid-19 pandemic has significantly changed the economic and social context, the commitment has been maintained, contributing to the recovery of labour incomes and the improvement of workers’ purchasing power. Between 2015 and 2022, the minimum wage increased by 39.6% from EUR 505 to EUR 705.
The Government has taken into account the importance of raising the minimum wage in promoting more decent work and economic growth, but also the financial weight it represents, in the current economic environment, for companies.
For this reason, it has given a commitment that the update of the minimum wage 2022 will be accompanied, once again, by an exceptional measure granting employers a monetary allowance corresponding to a fixed amount per worker receiving the minimum wage, when the conditions for granting it provided for in the Decree-Law increasing it are met, which will be published shortly in the Diário da República.
The support will be "€112 paid once relatively per worker earning the minimum wage" of 2021 and "a support of half of this amount for workers who have a pay gap between €665 and €705, respectively", the minimum remuneration of 2021 and 2022, said Ana Mendes Godinho.
The government also introduced an exceptional mechanism to value employers who had collective bargaining in 2021, and by virtue of which it increased the wages of workers above the legally established minimum value for the current year. These employers will receive the 112 euros for all workers who have salaries between 665 and 705 euros in 2021 for this reason.
Increase in pensions
The Minister also mentioned that the Ordinance to update pensions regularly in line with inflation is signed today, with an increase of 0.24% for pensions above EUR 2659 (6 IAS), 0.49% for pensions between this amount and EUR 886 (2 and 6 IAS), and 1% for pensions below EUR 886 (2 IAS).
The Social Support Index will also be updated, which will be 443 euros.
The Government also decided that the extraordinary increase in the minimum amount of unemployment benefit decided for the period of the pandemic is made permanent. This minimum value is set at 1.15 of the Social Support Index (IAS). Before 2020 it was 1 IAS. Over the past year, this increase has affected about 175,000 people.
The 10% increase in unemployment benefit for couples with children or equivalent in which both parents are unemployed, including single parents, also becomes definitive.
Source: Government Portal