Collective agreements ensure salary increases

Wages negotiated in collective bargaining agreements grew by 7.4% last year, according to a new report by the Centre for Labour Relations (CRL) presented at the Ministry of Labour. “With regard to wage variation, in 2024 it rose by 7.3% in nominal terms and 2.7% in real terms, more favourable figures than those in 2023 (respectively, 6.9% and 0.1%)”, the report reads.

The data also show that the country ended 2024 with a decrease in the number of Collective Regulatory Instruments (IRCT) (566) compared to 2023 (706), which represents a drop of 19.83%. The 2023 figure had been the highest since the series began in 2010.

The Minister of Labor, Rosário Palma Ramalho, commented on these data, arguing that, despite the setback, “the dynamism of collective bargaining remains”, adding that in the previous year there were many first agreements.

But he highlighted as “good news” the fact that company agreements continue to be more frequent than collective contracts – 51% against 40%. “This reflects a trend for collective bargaining to be at a more specialized level, which is the company level. This generally means solutions that are more adaptable to the company and more targeted to that reality”, argued Rosário Palma Ramalho.

As regards extension decrees, 86 were published in 2024, 27% less than in 2023 (118). The report highlights some aspects: they mostly concern partial revisions of conventions (61 out of 86) and around 29% correspond to global revisions (25 out of 86), with no extension of any first convention being recorded. This covers 21 sectors of activity of the CAE, with the “usual predominance” of industry and commerce.

According to the figures presented, there were 16 extension orders that were opposed to the extension during the public consultation phase: three on the initiative of the employer side, nine on the union side and four by both. For the Minister of Labor, "it is a sign of maturity. The union associations want collective bargaining."

Regarding the termination of collective agreements, there was a publication of one agreement to revoke an agreement, out of a total of 15, between 2010 and 2024, and a notice of termination of an agreement, out of a total of 26, between 2010 and 2024. With these figures, Rosário Palma Ramalho talks about stability but issues a warning: “Stability is a good thing, but it can mean a loss of dynamism. We have to look at that”.

The CRL report shows that, in relation to the Mainland, agreements decreased from 299 (2023) to 293 (2024). Even so, the number of workers potentially covered by collective bargaining agreements and published Working Conditions Ordinances rose from 825,269 (2023) to 1,037,520 in 2024. It also reveals that 90% of workers potentially covered by agreements published in 2024 correspond to sectoral instruments.