“The Government attended the meeting without any new developments from the previous session,” stated Sebastião Santana following the meeting with the Secretary of State for Public Administration, indicating that the only update involves the intention to increase the meal allowance next year, as reported by Fesap and STE.
Subsequently, an official source from the Ministry of Finance confirmed that at the next meeting, a proposal to increase the meal allowance for the following year will be presented. However, the proposed amount was not specified.
In the last meeting, the Government had proposed increasing the public service meal allowance by 10 cents annually starting in 2027, aiming to reach 6.30 euros by 2029.
According to the coordinator of the Common Front, it can be inferred that the proposed amount for 2026 is 10 cents, as “the Government admitted the possibility of advancing what it proposed.”
The Common Front considers the measures proposed by the executive to be far short of what is necessary to value careers and public services, accusing the Government of “negotiation farce,” and regretting the lack of “evolution” in the proposals.
“What the Government is doing is buying social conflict,” pointed out Sebastião Santana, warning, however, that the Common Front will not give up negotiating.
“We will not give up on the negotiating tables. [but] they have to be real negotiating tables. It can’t be something bordering on a farce. For that, there is no need for us all to waste time,” he said, following a meeting, which according to him, set “a record for brevity.”
The Government has already expressed its willingness to move forward with a new multi-year agreement, proposing, among other measures, salary increases of 2.30%, with a minimum of 60.52 euros by 2029, and to include other matters, notably “the revision of the current per diem system,” revising SIADAP and the remuneration statute for management staff.
The current agreement, signed in November 2024 with two of the Public Service union structures (Fesap and Trade Union Front), calls for increases of 2.15%, with a minimum of 56.58 euros for 2026.
For 2027 and 2028, the agreement sets increases of 2.3%, with a minimum of 60.52 euros.
