Antonio Pedro Santos / LUSA
Cristina Rodrigues, Pedro Pinto and André Ventura
Chega’s leader demands a lower retirement age – but it is necessary to take into account what will happen in the coming years.
“People feel that they are working more and more, with more and more years and with fewer and fewer rights.”
“Now, if we want to say that we are making it more flexible, we are wanting to take away the form of contracts, increase precariousness in some things, allow layoffs more easily, allow ‘outsourcing’ that we disagree with, but that the Government understands should be able to be done, we can’t just do that and fall to one side.”
Andre Ventura says that Chega is, and has always been, available to negotiate the new labor law with the Government. “No pistol pointed at the head over time”.
A Chega delegation will be created for these negotiations, and not for “simulated negotiations”, commented the deputy in a conversation with journalists at the Assembly of the Republic, this Thursday.
In the midst of this matter, Ventura was clear: his party requires lowering the retirement age – although no numbers were provided.
Paulo Ferreira admits that “everyone would obviously like to retire earlier, stop paying contributions earlier and start benefiting from the pension earlier too”.
“Now, the life expectancy today is not that era 30 or 40 years ago. Today, people in Portugal live to be over 80 years old, so they will receive pensions, on average, for much longer. And thankfully we have the sustainability factor, which was introduced 20 years ago by Vieira da Silva, which is increasing the retirement age”, continues the commentator.
This update, this adaptation, has worked. “And therefore, what Chega wants is to throw this all down the drain.”
Helena Matos, also on the radio, warns: “The big problem is that they are understood as protective measures for workers, things that, in fact, do not protect workers or that, to a certain extent, they only protect the workers who are there.”
“It’s as if the job market only existed at that precise moment”, he warns.
The problem with Chega, says the commentator, is that the proposals of the party in this area “are much more unrealistic” than some proposals from the UGT or the PS, or even the PCP.
The issue of retirement age “is not a wall that we have in front of us. We have something mushy that will arrive: people will not only retire later, but they will retire very poor. Because by 2040 prices will drop more and more.”
Helena predicts that, in 2040, retirees in Portugal receive only half of their last salary.
“So this is poverty, it has no other name” – this while expenses are increasing, especially in Health.
Paulo Ferreira interrupted and warned: “The Government could reach this point: either they want a new labor law, moreover already mitigated with what was the initial intention, and throw away what is already the very precarious balance of Social Security”.
Helena Matos reacted: “Sorry, It’s better for the government to fall! Whatever it is, changing Social Security, in this sense, it is better for the government to fall, because this is crucial”.
“Therefore, the André Ventura might as well go to the asylum, because I don’t see another place for him. I’m really sorry that you’re not in good health.”
