The Left Bloc (BE) lamented this Saturday that the package of measures presented by the Government to curb inflation does not cover areas such as transport or housing and called for the establishment of maximums for basic necessities.
There is no measure for transport, areas in which, throughout Europe, there has been intervention. [O pacote] He has no housing proposal. We are witnessing a new increase in interest rates and house fees are also increasing”, said the coordinator of BE, in Lisbon, after a meeting of the party’s National Bureau.
On the other hand, he pointed out that food goods have been increasing, while the profits of large distribution have grown.
“It is possible and urgent to establish ceilings on the prices of basic food,” he stressed, pointing out that this is not a new measure, since, during the covid-19 pandemic, the Government established maximums, for example, for the masks. protection.
At this Saturday’s meeting, a resolution was approved, which describes the package of measures presented by the Government to contain inflation as a “trick of illusion”, highlighting that the basket of basic goods has already increased by 12% this year.
However, the party emphasizes that price controls must be accompanied by an increase in wages, which must be at least at the level of this year’s inflation.
As for the national minimum wage, it is proposed that it be set at 850 euros from January 2023.
This must be followed by the updating of all State contracts with companies and the IPSS (Private Institutions of Social Solidarity).
Small companies, which concentrate a large part of employment in Portugal, can only win by recovering the purchasing power of the population in general and it is in the control of energy prices that the public intervention that they most need resides”, reads the document.
To this is added the taxation of excess profits in energy, banking and large distribution, said BE.
Source: Observadora
