[ad_1]
The Council of Ministers approved, this Tuesday, the increase of the national minimum wage (SMN) to 665 euros, 30 euros more than the one in force.
The measure will benefit a universe of 742 thousand people, which corresponds to 21% of workers in Portugal and 13.2% of the total national wage bill.
The Government considers the rise of the SMN to be decisive in the global strategy to return income, fight poverty and reduce social inequalities. It is also a way of responding to the crisis, not by reducing wages, but by assuming the centrality of wages and income as a determining instrument for the recovery and stimulation of domestic consumption ”, explains Ana Mendes Godinho, Minister of Labor. , Solidarity and Social Security, to JN.
The risk of poverty for workers in Portugal is 13%. Since António Costa joined the Government, the SMN has already risen 31.68%, which is equivalent to a growth of 160 euros in six years. When he took office as prime minister in November 2015, the SMN was at 505 euros. In 2016 it rose to 530 euros, then 557 euros, then 580 euros, in 2019 to 600 euros, this year to 635 euros and, in 2021, to 665 euros. This increase will be accompanied by extraordinary support to companies to face the extra cost, which “will be paid at once”, reveals Ana Mendes Godinho. The details of the support are being outlined between the ministries of Labor, Economy and Finance.
At the same time, the government will update state service contracts in which there are many workers with minimum wages, as a way to “ensure that the increase actually occurs in covered workers.”
[ad_2]
