Regarding the numbers “thrown into the air” by the Prime Minister, there are those who are tougher and say that “it is impossible” to reach the 1600 euros national minimum wage.
This Wednesday, the Government approved the increase in the national minimum wage by 50 euros in 2026, from 870 to 920 euros (gross), announced the Minister of the Presidency after the Council of Ministers.
At a press conference at Palácio da Vila, in Sintra, António Leitão Amaro said that this is a “significant increase” and that in a year and a half, with PSD/CDS-PP governments, the minimum wage has increased 100 euros.
“In a year and a half, with Luís Montenegro as prime minister, the minimum wage rose by 100 euros. It is part of a policy to increase the income of the Portuguese sustained by a unique moment in the national economy”, said the official.
The income agreement that the previous government of Luís Montenegro (PSD/CDS-PP) signed with the UGT and the employer centrals in October 2024 provides for the minimum wage to rise to a rhythm of 50 euros in each of the years until 2028.
1600 euros? To be, only 10 years after the legislature
The predicted values are 920 euros in 2026, rising to 970 euros in 2027 and for 1,020 euros in 2028. But, regarding the minimum wage of 1,600 euros per month established by Luís Montenegro a few days after the general strike called by the CGTP and UGT against the labor package, the former Minister of Finance, João Leãois very skeptical.
The Economics professor told , that Portugal should, yes, reach this value, but that it will only happen “by 2039”, a decade after the end of the legislature of the current Executive led by the Democratic Alliance (AD).
“If the economy continues to grow as it has over the last decade, it is natural that wages will increase, following the increase in productivity and prices. If things go well – it is always speculative – it could take almost a decade to reach that value [1.600]after the legislature”, says João Leão.
After Montenegro ‘threw into the air’ “1500 or 1600 euros” of SMN, the Minister of Finance, Miranda Sarmento, came to clarify that that amount is not a promise from the Government, but rather an “ambition”. The value “depends on many variables”, he pointed out.
“I don’t know what the Prime Minister was thinking when he made those statements, whether it was an objective to be achieved in 10 years, 20… Given the current conditions, in the short/medium term this is impossible. Any serious economist knows that they could never propose something of that amount, it goes far beyond what has even been requested”, argues university professor of Economics, João Cerejeira, in statements to JE.
“It’s good to define objectives, but that was in the income agreement. If you want to review the income agreement and put 1,600 euros there, go ahead – you’ll have to negotiate, discuss, that’s one way; now, throwing numbers into the air reveals a bit of bewilderment in terms of discourse”, he concludes
