However, the other measures of the agreement for wage appreciation and economic growth, which Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho wants to sign with the business confederations and trade unions before the State Budget proposal for 2025 is submitted to Parliament on 10 October, are still open.

“What we proposed was an increase [in the minimum wage] to 870 euros, which is significantly higher than the current agreement, which would be 855 euros,” the Minister of Labour began by stating to journalists after meeting with social partners.

When asked about the outlines of the other measures in the aforementioned agreement, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho explained that she was not discussing aspects still under negotiation, stressing that only in the case of the minimum wage was the discussion “absolutely closed, because it is a Government decision.”

According to the Labour Code, the Government must consult the social partners about the trajectory of the guaranteed minimum wage, but it is up to the Government to make the decision, even if there is no agreement between the various parties.

The Minister of Labour was also asked about the possibility of workers who pay the minimum wage starting to pay the IRS, with the increase now announced, but she ruled out this possibility, guaranteeing that the brackets will be updated, so that there is tax neutrality in the face of the reinforcements of the guaranteed minimum wage.

As for the coming years, the Minister of Labour did not want to reveal the Government's intentions regarding the minimum wage, but the document presented this afternoon to the social partners, to which ECO had access, points to annual increases of 50 euros up to 1,020 euros in 2028. The Executive had in its programme the goal of reaching one thousand euros of guaranteed minimum wage by the end of the legislature, so the trajectory presented today corresponds to an upward revision of this commitment.