Background information

The government is improving public administration wages and careers by reviewing the Single Remuneration Table (TRU), maintaining the regularity of annual salary updates, and valuing wages and careers by providing predictability.

The Pluriannual Agreement for the Valorization of Public Administration Workers (Acordo plurianual de valorização dos trabalhadores da Administração Pública) was signed on 24 October 2022.

The agreement sets the wage policy goals and guidelines for the period 2022-2026. The Tripartite Agreement 2022 (Acordo de Médio Prazo de Melhoria dos Rendimentos dos Salários e da Competitividade) applies to the private sector.

Content of measure

The signatories of this measure are the government and the public sector unions affiliated of the General Workers Union (UGT) i.e. the Federation of Public Administration Trade Unions (FESAT) and the Civil Service Technical Staff Trade Union (STE).

The Pluriannual Agreement for the Valorization of Public Administration Workers includes the following measures:

• Monitor the evolution of the mandatory minimum wage provided for in Tripartite Agreement 2022, to set the increase of the Public Administration Remuneration Base (BRAP). In 2023, the value of BRAP is set at €761.58.

• Increase the remuneration of all public administration workers, through an annual increase equivalent to around €52 or a minimum of 2% over the next four years. They must do so while guaranteeing to not affect the progressions and promotions that each employee is entitled to.

• Monitoring the evolution of the update of the meal subsidy. The value of the food allowance is €5.20, which was effective starting in October 2022. This measure, combined with remuneration increase, represents an average salary increase of 3.9%.

• Revising of the TRU by developing the careers in a phased process throughout the legislature. Revisions will include the upgrade of the senior officials (TS) career, starting in January 2023, by €104.22; Technical Assistants (AT) career, increasing their pay level by 10.7%; and Operational Assistants (AO) career, valuing seniority with an increase of one or two levels respectively for workers over 15 or 30 years of of service in the category.

According to the terms of the Pluriannual Agreement for the valorisation of Public Administration Workers, in 2023, the set of salary enhancement measures – salary update, TRU revision, upgrade of the meal subsidy and progressions/promotions – will represent an increase of 5.1% in Public Administration wage bill.

• The lowest income groups will see an 8.0% salary increase, covering 123,711 workers, with no worker falling below a 2% increase. This means an average rise in wages of 3.6%, in addition to the value of the rise in the meal subsidy, will raise average wages by 3.9%.
• About 59% of workers will have a raise equal to or greater than 3.5%.
• Up to a salary level of €1,000, the pay rise corresponds to an increase of more than 5.5%, covering a third of the workers (260,000).

Use of measure

No information.

Contents

• Pay increases

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Employees in standard employment	Does not apply to businesses	Does not apply to citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
National government Trade unions	National funds

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative	Agreed (outcome) incl. social partner initiative
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• Social partners jointly
• Main level of involvement: Sectoral or branch level

Involvement

The agreement was signed by the government and the public sector unions affiliated of the General Workers Union (UGT) i.e. the Federation of Public Administration Trade Unions (FESAT) and the Civil Service Technical Staff Trade Union (STE). The trade unions were not involved in the design of the agreement, but signed it. According to the terms of this bipartite agreement, the implementation and monitoring will be carried out by the contracting parties, that is the government and the unions FESAT and STE.

Views and reactions

The public sector unions affiliated of UGT i.e. the FESAT and the STE supported the agreement.

However the agreement was not signed by the National Federation of Public Sector Trade Unions (FNSFP), an affiliate of the General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP). This federation criticised the limited increase of the base wage in the public sector to €761.58, as well as the annual transversal increases of €52 until 2026 for gross monthly salaries of up to €2,600. Arguing that the increases envisaged by the agreement did not compensate the majority of public administration workers for the impact of the past inflation in 2022 and for inflation foreseen for 2023, the Federation called for a national strike on 18 November 2022.

Sources

• 09 October 2022: Acordo de Médio Prazo de Melhoria dos Rendimentos dos Salários e da Competitividade (ces.pt)
• 24 October 2022: Acordo plurianual de valorização dos trabalhadores da Administração Pública (www.portugal.gov.pt)
• 16 December 2022: Decreto-Lei n.º 84-F/2022, Diário da República n.º 221/2022 (diariodarepublica.pt)