STE demands across-the-board salary increases of 6.4% for the entire Public Service

The State Technical Staff Union (STE) is demanding a 6.4% salary increase for 2026, covering all public sector workers. The demand, which would entail an increase in the state minimum wage to €934.6, is included in the specifications submitted by the union to the government on Monday, which also includes an increase in the meal allowance to €12.

"We hope that these proposals will be taken into account when preparing the State Budget ," said STE President Helena Rodrigues at a press conference.

Among the "important and necessary" proposals, the STE president highlights "the review of the 2025-2028 multi-year agreement, which covers all workers, not just those at the beginning of their careers ." The goal is to "avoid the devaluation of salaries for the most qualified workers, and to attract younger graduates while retaining the most qualified."

The 6.4% across-the-board increase would represent a change from the last update, which determined, for this year, a pay increase of between 6.9% and 2.15% for all approximately 760,000 state workers : for salaries up to approximately €2,620, the monthly increase was €56.58, which translated into an increase of between 6.9% and 2.2%; for higher salaries, the increase was 2.15%. In practice, this meant nominal increases ranging from €56.58 to €146.63.

The STE also wants the meal allowance doubled, from the current six euros to 12 euros. It also demands fair compensation for the nine months, four months, and two days granted to teachers, for other professional groups that did not receive this time.

Helena Rodrigues also listed, among other proposals, the review of the SIADAP evaluation system with the elimination of quotas, the update of the discount rate for ADSE to 2.5% in 12 months , as well as an update of the cost of living allowances to values ​​that "accompanies the increase in fuel and hotel prices."

The specifications also include the " reinstatement of three days of vacation," "regulation of early retirement," and the promotion and expansion of teleworking. The union also wants to make "the implementation of occupational health and safety services effectively mandatory in the Public Administration," a pension adjustment of no less than 6.4%, "less penalizing rules for long contributory careers without the legal retirement age," and "the decriminalization of early retirement by reducing the sustainability factor."

ECO reported this week that the government has opened the door to reviewing the multi-year agreement to enhance the value of public administration workers for 2025-2028, adapting it to the new legislative framework. Above-expected salary increases are on the table for next year, which will be included in the 2026 State Budget (OE2026). The agreement called for an annual increase in 2026 of €56.58 for salaries up to approximately €2,620, or 2.15% for higher salaries. However, the increase is expected to be higher.

After the STE, on Friday it is the turn of the Federation of Public Administration and Public Purpose Entities Unions (Fesap) , also affiliated with the UGT, to present its proposals for the 2026 State Budget. The two union federations signed the multi-year agreement with the Government, unlike the Common Front, of the CGTP, the only union structure that did not sign the pact.

Negotiations with the government are expected to begin before October 10th, the deadline for submitting the 2026 State Budget proposal to the National Assembly. However, Helena Rodrigues stated that meetings with the Ministry of Finance will resume on September 3rd, but will focus on other ongoing career reviews.

(News updated at 11:57 am)