At issue are the salaries of the directors of the General Secretariat of Government. For the coordinator of the Bloco de Esquerda, Hélder Rosalino’s unavailability to take office does not mean that the law has to remain the same.
The coordinator of BE, Mariana Mortágua, defended this Monday the revocation of the decree that determines the salaries of the directors of the General Secretariat of the Government and that will call the minister of the Presidency to Parliament.
“Hélder Rosalino leaves, is the law tailor-made? It can’t be. We want to revoke the Government’s decree and hear in parliament the person responsible for the Government, Minister Leitão Amaro”, wrote Mariana Mortágua on the social network X.
The position of the BE coordinator was expressed shortly after the Prime Minister’s office announced that the former director of Banco de Portugal Hélder Rosalino informed him of his unavailability to take on the role of Secretary General of the Government.
Hélder Rosalino should start his duties from Wednesday, after being appointed to the position of Secretary General of the Government last Friday.
In a statement, Luís Montenegro’s office stated that “the solution found allowed Dr. Hélder Rosalino to maintain the salary he earned several years ago at the Bank of Portugal, which was defined by him”.
New position created by the Government
Last Friday, in a note, Luís Montenegro’s executive clarified that the creation of the General Secretariat of Government was part of the first phase of the public administration reform. A reform that aimed to proceed with “the extinction of nine entities by merger into the General Secretariat of the Government and other integrating entities, cutting the number of management positions by 25%”, which will generate “savings of around 4.1 million euros per year to the State”.
However, shortly after the announcement of Hélder Rosalino’s appointment, it was reported that the former Secretary of State had chosen to be remunerated as Secretary General of the Government by his original salary at the Bank of Portugal, in excess of 15 thousand euros, and I do not agree with the single remuneration table for the Civil Service, whose salary would be in the order of six thousand euros.
In a statement, the Bank of Portugal also guaranteed that it would not assume any amount of Hélder Rosalino’s salary of more than 15 thousand euros as Secretary General of the Government.
Today, the PS announced that it intended to request parliamentary consideration of the change in the decree-law that determines the salaries of directors of the General Secretariat of the Government – a diploma that would allow Hélder Rosalino to maintain his original salary of around 15 thousand euros.
“Although it is not a reserve matter for the Assembly of the Republic, the definition of the remuneration framework for management staff – in particular with exception rules that allow managers to earn more than the President of the Republic – it is advisable that parliament be a party to the decision this matter”, said the PS in a statement.
