The Minister for State Modernization and Public Administration ruled out the possibility of generalized wage increases in the civil service next year due to the current macroeconomic scenario.
“I wish this could happen. At the moment, given the macroeconomic scenario, we are not proposing [wage increases] and I don’t think we can. Now, of course, there may be news until the end of the negotiations, but I don’t think there is anything in this matter”, said Alexandra Leitão.
The guarantee was given by the government official after the meeting of the first negotiation round with the union structures. A statement that had already been put forward by the unions. Even so, Alexandra Leitão left a guarantee: “What I said during the meetings is that it is the wish of the Ministry of Public Administration and, in general, the Government, that we could have generalized increases, namely in line with the 1% mentioned in October 2019 and that did not materialize”, but “the macroeconomic scenario does not allow us to do it yet”, said the minister.
Also this Monday, the secretary general of the Federation of Unions of Public Administration (FESAP), José Abraão, said that the salary increases for 2022 in the civil service “are not a closed matter” and that the Government has expressed its willingness to comply with the promise of a 1% upgrade. “We are going to fulfill the way of the cross of talking to the parties with parliamentary representation, hoping for some more measures that can contribute to solving the problems”, said the union leader.
José Abraão considered that the results of the meeting “translate into some frustration” as the measures proposed under the 2022 State Budget “fall far short of what the workers expected”, adding that the Government signaled “some intentions regarding the need to move in the career of senior technicians, namely on entry” into the career, but said nothing about the current workers.