Thousands protest in Portugal to demand higher wages

LISBON

Thousands of protesters filled downtown Lisbon on March 18 to demand higher wages and pensions, as well as government intervention to cap soaring food prices they say are strangling already tight budgets.

Portugal is one of Western Europe’s poorest countries and official data shows that more than 50 percent of Portuguese workers earned less than 1,000 euros ($1,067) per month last year, while the minimum wage is only 760 euros per month.

According to Eurostat data, the minimum wage in Portugal, measured in purchasing power parities and not at current prices, in 2023 is 681 euros a month, the 12th lowest of the 15 European Union countries that have minimum wages. It compares with 726 euros in Poland, 775 euros in Greece or 798 euros in Spain.

Portugal’s biggest umbrella union, the CGTP, which called the protests, is calling for wages and pensions to be raised by at least 10 percent immediately and wants the government to impose caps on the price of basic foods.

Economy Minister Antonio Costa Silva ruled out any government intervention to stem soaring food prices, seeing the market as the best price-setting mechanism.

As of Jan. 1, civil servants’ salaries were up by an average of 3.6 percent from 2022 levels and those of the private sector grew by 5.1 percent, while pensions rose by a maximum of 4.83 percent, government data shows.

Portuguese inflation slowed to 8.2 percent in February from 8.4 percent the previous month. Prices of unprocessed food products, such as fruit and vegetables, surged 20.11 percent.