“We have some good news today, which is the government’s openness to altering the meal subsidy, which has not been adjusted since 2023,” emphasized José Abraão after the meeting with the Secretary of State for Public Administration, echoing the announcement made by the coordinator of the Common Front.
Sebastião Santana pointed out that the government proposed an annual increase of 10 cents in the public sector meal subsidy starting in 2027, aiming to reach 6.30 euros by 2029.
“The meal subsidy must be increased,” but “the proposal they make does not satisfy us. […] The 10 cents proposed for 2027 won’t even buy a loaf of bread today,” summarized the Secretary-General of the Federation of Public Administration Unions and Entities with Public Purposes (Fesap).
José Abraão further noted that he informed the government “that it was not possible” to reach an agreement without a meal subsidy increase in 2026, but the executive justified this proposal with the “argument” that the 2026 budget is “very tight.”
“For us, we have always told all governments that governing is about making choices,” he retorted, expressing hope that “the government will advance further” to cope with inflation.
Fesap demands an increase in the meal allowance from the current 6 euros to 10 euros per day, tax-exempt. The Common Front asks for an increase to 12 euros, while the STE recently admitted adjusting its demand from 12 to 10 euros in 2026.
According to the Secretary-General of Fesap, in today’s meeting, the government also admitted reconsidering “new careers,” specifically in “meteorology, geophysics, and museum workers,” which “could be part of the agreement,” and expressed “willingness to accelerate” the revision of the Director’s Personnel Statute in the second half of the next year.
Meanwhile, the UGT-affiliated union highlighted the need for ADSE contributions to benefit from a reduction in IRS, similar to “what happens with health insurance,” he added.
Despite the willingness to update the meal subsidy, the government did not advance any proposals regarding the general salary update, according to the unions.
In the initial proposal presented on September 26, the government retained the values outlined in the ongoing multi-year agreement for 2026, 2027, and 2028, but suggested extending the agreement to cover the current legislative term, up to 2029, proposing increases of 2.30%, with a minimum of 60.52 euros.
The current agreement, signed in November 2024 with two public sector union structures (Fesap and the Trade Union Front), foresees increases of 2.15%, with a minimum of 56.58 euros for the upcoming year.
For 2027 and 2028, the agreement outlines increases of 2.3%, with a minimum of 60.52 euros.
Additionally, on September 26, the Ministry of Finance indicated that the proposal presented to public sector unions includes “other relevant issues,” namely “the review of the current subsistence allowance regime, the evolution and revision of the SIADAP, as well as the remuneration statute of the Managerial Personnel,” in line with the government’s program measures.
The agreement signed in 2024 updated the amount of subsistence allowances by 5% in 2025.
