António Costa admits minimum wage above €900 by 2026
The current prime minister also announced that the national minimum wage could even surpass €900 in the future.
António Costa admitted on Monday that the national minimum wage could exceed the €900 threshold by 2026, thus staying above the target promised by the Socialist Party (PS) in the current legislative elections. “It may be possible to go further,” the PS general-secretary acknowledged in an interview with Rádio Renascença.
“We have verified with great satisfaction that many business owners say that we have to increase the minimum wage. I met with business owners and some said that the national minimum wage should be at least €1,000,” stressed Costa, adding that the value in question is set by the government and does not depend on the “yes” from employers or unions.
“Our commitment is €900, but obviously we wish that, in the agreement being negotiated in Social Concertation, [the minimum wage] we could surpass that figure. If we can go further, we will go further,” added António Costa. It should be explained that this agreement started to be negotiated even before the pandemic, but Covid-19 eventually led to its suspension. The PS now promises to resume it, if it wins the elections next Sunday.
The national minimum wage is currently standing at €705, after being increased by €40 between 2021 and 2022, without agreement from the social partners. The government’s goal for this legislature was to reach €750 by 2023.
