In this debate, the PCP confronted the Government with concrete problems that do not find answers in this State Budget, low wages and pensions, difficulties in healthcare, education and housing.
It was stated here by the government that the opposition is not talking about wages, but the one who runs like hell from an effective increase in wages and pensions, necessary to face the increase in the cost of living, is the government. It's like this, when we propose an increase in wages by 15%, a minimum of 150 euros or an increase in pensions by 7.5%, a minimum of 70 euros - the government doesn't even want to hear it.
It talks about wage increase rates, but does not specify which wages are being considered, whether it is actual wages or whether other short-term components are added, purposely ignoring that the increase in prices of essential goods was much higher than the estimated value of inflation. Furthermore, it ignores that the increase in bank payments is not even counted in the inflation. What the government wants is to hide the loss of purchasing power of workers and retired people, just as it wants to hide its responsibilities in the degradation of the people's living conditions.
It insists that the Budget focuses on public investment, deceiving that in addition to being clearly insufficient, what is known is that even part of this remains unexecuted, as we have seen with each passing year.
Prudence, caution and responsibility is not delaying until tomorrow what can and should be done today. Postponing problems, as the government does, will only make them worse, and that is not protecting the future. Only those who are unaware of the difficulties that workers and people face can have a policy of postponing the necessary answers and solutions.
Protecting the future, protecting Social Security, is not with exemptions on Social Security Tax which only serve to feed the profits of large employers and unprotect workers. Guaranteeing decent retirements and strengthening social benefits involves creating jobs with rights, valorising wages– better wages today will be better pensions tomorrow – and diversifying Social Security funding sources.
The right-wing policy that the absolute majority of the PS took into its hands, took away the arguments of the parties to its right, which revealed increased difficulties in the debate, systematically resorting to distracting aspects to hide their agreement with the favouring of economic groups and multinationals. Was there any displeasure from the PSD, IL or CH with the end of the extraordinary taxation on profits in the energy sector or large retail? Or was there any displeasure with the extension of tax benefits for large companies?
PSD, IL and CH once again brought up the talk about the “brutal tax burden”. They want to erase the responsibilities of the last PSD/CDS government, which applied a huge increase in the Personal Income Tax (IRS). They do so, not worried about high taxes on workers or micro, small and medium-sized companies, but because what they genuinely want is to cut taxes for large companies. As spokespeople for economic groups, they will probably only rest when capital does not pay a single euro in tax.
They continue to promote the illusion, to deceive people, that it is by cutting taxes that they would have more wages. More wages truly require an increase in their value.
This operation by right-wing parties aims to promote more fiscal injustice, degrade public services to advance their privatisation and contain wage increases.
Instead of a Budget that keeps wages and pensions low, what is needed is to valorise wages and pensions. Instead of a Budget that accelerates debt and deficit reduction, what is needed is to combat debt through investment and economic growth. Instead of a Budget with a budget surplus, what is needed is to valorise careers, increase the number of workers in public services, adopt solutions to retain professionals in the NHS and solve the problem of the lack of teachers, expand access to social benefits and create a public network of daycare centres that guarantees free daycare for all children. Instead of a Budget with more tax benefits for economic groups, what is needed is a fair fiscal policy that lightens taxation on labour income and reduces indirect taxes, namely VAT on electricity and gas and taxes economic groups more effectively. Instead of a Budget that guarantees the interests of large real state, banking and speculation, what is needed is to guarantee the right to housing. Instead of a Budget that feeds capital’s profits, what is needed is public investment to guarantee public services and infrastructure and invest in national production.
The Budget proposal does not solve the problems and even worsens them, heightening inequalities and injustice. A Budget like this can only be voted against by the PCP.
We salute the CGTP leaders present here. We salute the struggle of workers in companies and workplaces, for more wages and rights, against the increase in the cost of living. It was through the struggle, through the firm and courageous action of workers, that wage increases were achieved in several sectors. The workers' struggle today, as in the past, will be decisive for new advances.
The workers, pensioners, young people, count on this Party, on the PCP, which will not fail in intervening and fighting, in defence of the interests of those who work and those who have worked their entire lives.
We will not fail to intervene with concrete proposals and solutions in the specialty of the State Budget. Of the proposals we have already tabled, we highlight the general increase in wages and pensions, the increase in the meal allowance to 10.5 euros, the fixing and reduction of fuel and food prices, the creation of an exclusive dedication regime in the NHS, the accounting of all service time in careers and special bodies, the increase in the risk allowance for security professionals to 420 euros, the elimination of tuition fees, the restoration of the universality of the family allowance and the extension of the limits of income tax brackets, the promotion of fiscal justice through the reduction of VAT to 6% on electricity and gas and to 13% on telecommunications, the reduction of the IRS tax by increasing the specific deduction, expanding the number of tax brackets and reducing the tax rate by 3 percentage points in the first three brackets and through the taxation of large fortunes and profits through mandatory inclusion in the last bracket of the Income Tax, the repeal of tax benefits, the creation of a tax on financial transactions of tax havens and the creation of an additional tax on profits from the financial, energy and large retail sectors.
These proposals will be added to others to reinforce social protection for children, the elderly and people with disabilities; in healthcare, education, culture, environment and justice; in security forces and services, armed forces and civil protection; in supporting MSMEs, in transport.
Proposals that prove that an alternative, patriotic and left-wing policy is possible and necessary, which combats injustice and inequalities, which valorises work and workers, which strengthens rights, a policy for a sovereign development.
