José Sena Goulão / Lusa
The agreement between PSD/CDS-PP and PS makes the reform viable, which brings together non-contributory social support, allows Portugal to move forward with a request for 620 million euros from the PRR and leaves social work as the most politically sensitive point of the new benefit.
Parliament approved this Thursday, in general and in a final global vote, the proposed law that authorizes the Government to create the Single Social Benefit (PSU), following an agreement between PSD/CDS-PP and PS.
The proposal that authorizes the government to create the PSU was voted on in this afternoon’s plenary session, in Parliament, and, in the final global vote, obtained the favorable votes of PSD and CDS-PP, abstention from IL and PS and votes against ChegaBook, PCP, BE, PAN e JPP.
In general, the vote was similar, with only a change in the voting direction of the liberal bench, which voted in favor.
The approved document reached on Wednesday between executive parties and the PSwhich led to the replacement of the text of the Government’s initial proposal on the PSU, approved by the Council of Ministers at the end of May and delivered to Parliament at the beginning of June.
On the 12th, for the approval of the diploma, after the social democrats had accepted 6 of the 7 requirements put forward by André Ventura’s party — which warned, however, that it would only make the diploma viable if a formula to exclude immigrants from benefits that have never cashed in Portugal.
With the approval of the proposal, achieving a target is guaranteed of the Recovery and Resilience Plan (PRR), which allows Portugal to submit the request for release of 620 million euros.
After seeing your change proposals rejected in the specialtyIL forced a new discussion and vote in plenary on the exclusion from social work of beneficiaries with degree of disability less than 60% and the reduction of the legislative authorization period from 120 to 90 days, but the initiatives were again rejected.
After negotiation, the final text provides, in relation to social work, that access to PSU depends “on registration at a job center, availability for professional training or education, availability to work in a suitable job or carry out social solidarity activities”.
However, it emphasizes that these demands are made “in terms adapted to the beneficiary and household conditions”.
The diploma also provides for “the participation of beneficiaries in activities of social solidarity” that are “promoted by the institution managing the provision within the scope of individual insertion plans” and “in conjunction with current active labor market policies, taking into account the reality of each beneficiary and household”.
On Wednesday, PS and PSD differed in their interpretation about whether the so-called “social work” would be mandatory or notwith Brilhante Dias saying that this obligation would fall and Hugo Soares saying that it was not optional.
However, in a joint statement released today, the two parties say the unjustified refusal of social solidarity activity, within the framework of individual insertion plans, may lead to loss of PSU.
In the initial proposal, authored by the Government, this social work could be performed by a fringe of beneficiariesas long as they did not have severe disability, were of working age and were not caregivers or students, “determining unjustified non-compliance” with these measures “the non-renewal or termination of provisionunder the terms to be defined in the legal regime of the Single Social Benefit”.
Due to the agreement, The reporting channel was also dropped from the proposal of possible fraud or abuse in access to the service that the executive intended to implement, with a more generic formulation being defined in the diploma that mandates the executive to “reinforce appropriate mechanisms to combat fraud, abuse or improper access”.
It was also defined as a condition for access to the PSU one year minimum time of residence in the country.
The initiative also requires people with disabilities to be exempt from social activities. disability equal to or greater than 80% and guarantees that “those with disabilities between 60% and 79% are subject to individual compatibility assessment”.
The text agreed by the parties also provides that the value of the PSU will be defined by decree-law, not by ordinanceallowing the matter to be monitored by Parliament, but it already determines that this benefit is “subject to progressive updating in relation to the poverty threshold”.
In the negotiation it was also agreed that “the prior occurrence of dismissal due to a fact attributable to the worker cannot determine an impediment access to the PSU”.
They were also maximum limits extended of assets to access the PSU: 60 IAS in the global value of movable assets and 60 IAS in the value of movable assets subject to registration of the applicant and the respective domicile.
The PSU unifies non-contributory subsidies, such as social insertion income or various pensions, and results from a commitment made by the PS, within the scope of the Recovery and Resilience Program (PRR).
