Today, November 26, the National Assembly of Portugal is going to adopt the 2014 austerity budget, the third since the right-wing government came to power in 2011. The Finance Act plans to save €4 billion in order to keep its promise to limit the public debt to 4 percent of GDP in 2014. once again, civil servants will be the most affected by austerity next year. Union protest – at general and sectoral level – is growing as the Constitutional Court recently validated an increase in the workweek in the civil service, from 35 up to 40 hours. (Ref. 130741)
Austerity budget. Today, the Portuguese Parliament is adopting the 2014 Finance Bill. The budget confirms savings of €4 billion next year – one third coming from cutting personnel expenses in the civil service. A cutting scale ranging between 2.5 and 12 percent will be applied, depending on the categories. The limit – initially €600/month – is now €675. until now, pay cuts were applied to wages of €1,500/month or more. Staffing cuts, income freezes and career progressions are maintained.
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