Rising inflation has pushed Portuguese workers toward renewed demonstrations as unions rally for stronger pay and safer purchasing power. In the coming weeks, they will press the government and employers to reinforce salary conditions that help shield households from eroding budgets. Protests began in late spring when parliament approved this year’s budgets by a narrow margin in support of Prime Minister António Costa’s Socialist Party, which has held a comfortable parliamentary majority since January. The administration has stood by its pension and civil service pay proposals despite shifts in the economic landscape.
Advocates for workers argue that boosting public sector wages could feed inflation, while others defend the sweep of measures already in place. Tax relief and caps on gas prices in the Iberian market have been coordinated with Brussels. Yet, observers expect the government to anchor some changes in the near term, as Economy Minister António Costa Silva acknowledged. “Inflation is largely imported, with about three-quarters of the rise driven by higher energy and food costs. Still, as time goes on it becomes harder to claim it is merely temporary,” he stated in a recent interview with The Weekly Express. [Source attribution: The Weekly Express]
Negotiation continues
The mood among public employees awaiting new announcements remains concentrated on the government. The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), the country’s largest union federation linked to the Portuguese Communist Party, has outlined July 7 as a date for renewed action in Lisbon, aiming to conclude more than a month of protests. Core demands focus on salary improvements, stronger staffing in public administration, and clearer pathways for career progression. [Source attribution: The Weekly Express]
The government this week kicked off the first round of talks, proposing a monthly pay raise of 50 euros in several sectors. Some unions deem this increase insufficient for now. Both workers and left-leaning parties criticized the government for not folding in higher public wages into the final budgets, which had set a 0.9% baseline. Critics accuse Costa of pressing companies to shoulder a 20% wage uplift by 2026, a demand that predated the current conflict and was reiterated in discussions. [Source attribution: The Weekly Express]
Private sector
The Portuguese Business Confederation (CIP) argues that a broad wage increase would hinge on improved efficiency and not yet exists in practice. “Many firms are grappling with steep increases in raw materials and energy, plus a drop in orders, which makes wage hikes hard to justify,” said CIP chair António Saraiva in a recent interview. He urged the government to lower corporate taxes to help firms absorb higher costs. [Source attribution: The Weekly Express]
Meanwhile, economic uncertainty persists, affecting Portuguese workers who are unlikely to see wage gains fast enough to offset inflation, which OECD estimates place above six percent this year. [Source attribution: The Weekly Express]