“The meal allowance, we believe, should be updated to a proposed value of 12 euros, but in negotiations, we are also willing to consider 10 euros,” stated the president of the State Technical Staff Union (STE), Helena Rodrigues, after meeting with the Secretary of State for Public Administration, Marisa Garrido, at the Ministry of Finance in Lisbon, admitting that the increase could be “phased in.”
The president of the STE also indicated that in the meeting with the government, other proposals included in the union’s claims booklet were insisted upon, namely “the recovery of the three vacation days” abolished during the ‘troika’, proposing that public employees would “regain one day of vacation each year, until reaching those three days.”
The government “will consider” this proposal, added Helena Rodrigues.
Regarding possible salary increases for next year above what is stipulated in the current multi-year agreement, the president of the STE indicated that the government “did not close” the door “in this meeting,” but also did not commit.
“We believe there might be something more,” she said.
The current agreement, signed in November 2024 with two public sector union structures (Fesap and Frente Sindical), provides for increases of 2.15%, with a minimum of 56.58 euros next year.
Meanwhile, the STE, linked to the UGT, demands a salary increase of 6.4% for all public employees in 2026.
Another concern conveyed by the STE to the government pertains to the performance evaluation of public employees. “We are concerned with the SIADAP evaluations, with the delay by the services in carrying out the evaluation processes,” and the government has stated that they are working with public entities to ensure that this process is conducted as promptly as possible, said Helena Rodrigues.
Helena Rodrigues also insisted on reducing the deduction rate for ADSE, considering it to be “very” high. The union’s claims booklet advocates for an update of the ADSE deduction rate to 2.5% over 12 months, instead of the current 3.5%.
The president of the STE further expressed hopes that in the next meeting with the government, scheduled for October 29, there might be a “more concrete approach” from the executive regarding the proposals presented by this union structure.
