Plan to increase Portugal’s minimum wage

The new Portuguese government plans to raise minimum wages in Portugal, as new data reveals the country has one of the lowest minimum wages in Europe.

Portugal continues to be one of the European Union countries where the national minimum wage is among the lowest, despite the updates of the last four years, which raised the minimum wage by almost 19 percent in nominal terms.

Among the 22 European countries that updated the minimum wage in 2019 through legislation, Portugal ranks 12th, according to a study conducted by the Office of Strategy and Planning of the Ministry of Labour.

The minimum wage in Portugal has increased over the last four years from €505 in 2016 to €600 in 2019, a nominal increase of almost 19 percent and real (excluding inflation) of 14 percent.

Portugal’s minister of labour, solidarity and social security, Ana Mendes Godinho, has expressed her confidence that it will be possible to reach an agreement in social consultation on the evolution of the minimum wage for 2020.
“Our goal is to reach €750 by 2023 and by then we will have a discussion and debate year by year on what the minimum wage is each year,” she said.

Via Portugal News