Teixeira Cândido, spokesperson for the unions, said this Wednesday that the third phase of the general strike in the country, scheduled between the 3rd and 14th of June, is suspended as the parties have finally reached an agreement on the "major fracturing issues" that divided them.
"Yes, we finally reached an agreement after six months of negotiations, we remember that this process began in December last year and after the first and second phases of the strike we finally reached an agreement", stated the union leader.
The Three-Year Agreement for the Valorization of Workers through Social Dialogue (2025-2027) was signed on Tuesday night, in Luanda, following a marathon negotiation lasting almost ten hours between the Government and the trade unions.
The Central Geral de Sindicatos Independentes e Livres de Angola (CGSILA), União Nacional dos Trabalhadores Angolanos - Confederação Sindical (UNTA-CS) and Força Sindical - Central Sindical (FS-CS) were the signatories of the agreement with the Government on the updating the national minimum wage and adjusting the civil service salary to 25 percent.
The parties committed, in this five-page agreement and with a roadmap of tasks to be implemented until 2027, that the salary review of the entire public service will take place over three years, with effect from January 2025, with an increase of 25 percent, foreseeing negotiations on September 30th of each year for subsequent increases.
In relation to updating the national minimum wage, they immediately decided on an increase of 70 thousand kwanzas, almost double the current 32 thousand kwanzas, which should evolve to 100 thousand kwanzas, as demanded by the unions, within a period of two years after its fixed in 2024.
For companies able to practice a minimum wage below 70 thousand kwanzas, these will evolve to 100 thousand kwanzas, within a period of two years, after it is set in 2024, with micro-enterprises and start-ups must practice a minimum wage of 50 thousand kwanzas.
They also agreed on the "immediate" implementation of insulation (30 percent), installation (50 percent) and housing rent (30 percent) subsidies for employees working in remote areas.
An increase in the breastfeeding allowance to 300 percent, the funeral allowance by 300 percent and the family allowance by 150 percent are also included in the compromise between unions and the Government.
Regarding the reduction of Labor Income Tax (IRT) to 15 percent, as demanded by UNTA-CS, CGSILA and Força Sindical, the parties agreed that unions be represented in the working committee of the Code reform process of Personal Tax, which consists of "reducing the tax burden to an equilibrium level".
The trade unions must also, "immediately", appoint a member to join the supervisory board of the National Employment Fund, a representative on the supervisory board of the National Social Security Institute (INSS), a body that must have a rotating presidency every from June 30, 2025.
