According to the secretary general of the Central General of Independent and Free Unions of Angola (CGSILA), the demand book was delivered on September 5th and the Government responded on December 22nd.
Francisco Jacinto stated that the first preliminary meeting took place this Thursday, without yet entering into the substantial discussion of the eight points contained in the list of demands, which should take place at the beginning of January 2024.
“What we discussed today was just aligning the preliminary discussion teams, the procedures, for the two parties to create their negotiating committees and at the beginning of January we can start negotiating the demands book”, Francisco Jacinto told Lusa.
On the government side, the ministers of Public Administration, Labor and Social Security (MAPTSS), Teresa Dias, as coordinator, of Education, Luísa Grilo, and of Health, Sílvia Lutucuta, and the secretaries of State for Territorial Administration and from the Interior.
Francisco Jacinto highlighted the Government's willingness to negotiate. “What was evident today, we hope will always be the case. At least today the people present showed their willingness to negotiate. Some with some exaggerations in the language, but what we want is for the negotiations to go well”, he underlined.
For Francisco Jacinto, “running well” means mutual respect, and that, as partners, it is understood that there is no coordination or subordination.
“No one can think, when we are at the negotiating table, that they have the power to coordinate the activity or coordinate others, we are different institutions. We need to understand this in order to make progress in the negotiations”, he highlighted.
The union leader considered all eight points of the list of demands to be crucial, with a focus on improving remuneration conditions, such as the review and definition of the national minimum wage in the amount of 245 thousand kwanzas (273.7 euros), as well as the reduction of the Income Tax Labor Income (IRT), in the order of 10 percent, to recover employees' purchasing power.
“That’s why we don’t include 20 or 30 points, we include those that are there because we think they are the most important, main and essential for the lives of workers”, he stressed.
Speaking to the press, the MAPTSS minister said that the parties are working to ensure that consensus is effective.
According to Teresa Dias, changing the national minimum wage implies, for example, also changing the minimum value of social benefits from the Social Security Institute.
“We have to listen to big businesspeople, small companies and micro-enterprises [about] whether they have the sustainability to pay these salaries, the issue is very serious”, highlighted the minister.
In turn, the secretary general of the National Union of Angolan Workers (UNTA), José Laurindo, said that the meeting was cordial, congratulating “the kick off” for the start of negotiations in January.
Currently, the minimum wage is set at 33 thousand kwanzas, an adjustment made in 2021, with an increase of 50 percent.
In the list of demands, the three union centrals – UNTA, CGSILA and Força Sindical – demand from the Government the definition of a single national minimum wage in the order of 245 thousand kwanzas and a 250 percent salary increase for civil servants.
