“Today the circumstances are indeed slightly different from those we envisioned a year ago,” the organization highlighted, noting that at that time, inflation was “slowing down and now shows signs of acceleration.”
The UGT also indicated the worsening of problems with housing and interest rates, which “due to geopolitical tensions and instabilities from an international perspective, currently cause increased difficulties for workers,” reducing their disposable income.
“We must, therefore, ensure a response to the issues regarding the incomes of the Portuguese people, which was understood by the Government when it promoted the measure of granting an extraordinary pension supplement and when it included a new target for the minimum wage in the Government’s program, aligning with the position that UGT has always advocated,” the entity emphasized.
Thus, the UGT demands “an immediate increase to 950 euros in 2026 and reaffirms the goal of reaching 1,200 euros by 2029.”
Currently, the minimum wage is 870 euros.
Simultaneously, the trade union organization proposes “an urgent review of the values outlined in the medium-term agreement, advocating increases of no less than 5% in 2026.”
According to the UGT, this year “presents a stable and low unemployment rate with continuous job creation, so the labor market should experience positive evolution.”
For the entity, it is thus proven that “the Portuguese economy performed well economically with little impact on wage improvements, particularly for workers, retirees, and pensioners with lower incomes.”
“With this positive scenario, we have the capacity to go further than what was anticipated in the assumptions with which we signed the medium-term agreement for improving incomes, wages, and competitiveness, and in the subsequent reinforcements,” it emphasized.
The UGT further warned that “extraordinary increases do not solve the structural problem of low pensions and poverty,” further calling for, within Social Conciliation, “an urgent discussion focused exclusively on wages and incomes, without connection to other negotiation processes, like labor legislation.”
