The labor minister and her government appear to be rapidly altering labor laws, aiming to extend precarious work conditions, constrain collective bargaining, limit wage increases, deregulate work schedules, and diminish maternity rights, among other measures. These changes are likely to exacerbate existing pay inequalities, stated CIMH in a statement released ahead of the National Equal Pay Day, marked on Sunday.
Data from the latest barometer by the Office of Strategy and Planning (GEP) of the Ministry of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security, from 2023, revealed that the base salary for women in Portugal was 12.5% lower than that of men, with an average gap of 161.30 euros. Effectively, this implies women work 46 days per year without pay.
This gap widens to 15.4% when considering total earnings, including bonuses, regular subsidies, and overtime pay. In this scenario, the average difference between men and women amounts to 241.60 euros.
CIMH notes that Portugal is lagging in implementing the Pay Transparency Directive, which aims to eliminate secrecy around wages, a major obstacle to gender equality at work. The deadline for this directive’s adoption is June 7, 2026.
The commission suggests that addressing wage inequalities requires increasing salaries to enhance work value and combat gender pay discrimination. Other measures include rescinding the expiry rule for collective agreements and reintroducing a more favorable treatment principle, integrating measures to promote and safeguard pay equality, notably through wage increases to tackle existing disparities.
CGTP calls for the end of direct and indirect discrimination between men and women, particularly affecting women with disabilities, insecure job contracts, immigrants, or minorities. They advocate for reducing working hours to 35 per week and regulating bonuses (for attendance, productivity, etc.) to ensure maternity, paternity, and family support rights are protected without employer penalties.
The labor union also demands public policies promoting equality in education and ensuring that official statistics, particularly from Social Security, provide gender-disaggregated data to assess and monitor wage discrimination effects throughout life, especially in old age.
The GEP’s latest barometer, published last March, shows the gender pay gap decreased in 2023, with women’s base salary 12.5% lower than men’s, a 0.7 percentage point reduction from the previous year and the lowest since at least 2010, when the gap was 17.9% against women.
This comes after an upturn in gender pay inequality since 2013, with stabilization in 2014 and 2015, before the gap narrowed again in 2023, with women’s monthly base pay 12.5% less than men’s.
In 2022, the base salary gap between men and women stood at 13.2% against women.
