Oeiras Mayor Proposes City-Hall Pay Overhaul to Halt Staff Exodus

Portugal’s local governments are still the country’s face-to-face administration, yet the people who keep town halls running earn markedly less than many colleagues in central ministries. Oeiras mayor Isaltino Morais says that gulf must close—and he is steering the debate well beyond the Lisbon suburbs.

In a Nutshell

• Morais wants a full overhaul of municipal career structures and pay scales.

• A national deal is already set to give most public workers a €56.58 monthly rise next year, but city-hall staff warn that will not fix the talent drain.

• Unions agree on the principle but are split over timing and funding.

• Oeiras has pencilled in €358.8 M for its 2026 budget, yet precise costs of the reform remain under wraps.

Why the Oeiras Mayor Is Making Noise

Isaltino Morais used the latest congress of the Associação Nacional de Municípios Portugueses to accuse successive governments of running “two parallel states”—one with privileged careers, another where municipal clerks, engineers and social workers shoulder front-line duties for far less pay. He argues that without a shake-up, city halls will keep losing senior planners, IT specialists and even electricians to the private sector, undermining everything from building permits to public lighting.

The mayor’s remarks landed at a sensitive moment: Lisbon is negotiating the final details of a national multi-year wage accord for 2025-2028, and several sector-specific reviews—health technicians, reintegration officers, polícia municipal—are already on the calendar. By singling out local careers, Morais is effectively asking the finance ministry to widen the scope before ink is dry.

The National Pay Deal Everyone Is Watching

Under the government’s Agreement for the Valorisation of Public Workers, every civil servant earning up to €2,620.23 will pocket an extra €56.58 a month from January, while higher brackets receive 2.15 %. The public-sector minimum wage will climb to €878.41 and daily allowances rise 5 %.

That package, however, leaves general careers—assistant operational, assistant technical and senior technical—parked until 2027 for serious renegotiation. Town-hall chiefs say waiting two more years is untenable when job boards already list vacancies for chief architects at €1,300 a month.

Counting the Cost in Oeiras

City-hall insiders confirm that the 2026 personnel bill is projected at €74.8 M, roughly €5.8 M more than this year. Those numbers assume the national rises but not the deeper structural reform Morais demands. Finance officials are modelling scenarios in which grade compression is eased, mid-career progression accelerated and certain niche functions (urban planning, cybersecurity) gain specific allowances. Early drafts seen by councillors suggest a potential 3 %–4 % hike in payroll—manageable for a cash-rich municipality like Oeiras, less so for smaller inland councils.

What the Unions Say

Labour groups walk a cautious line. UGT backs Morais’s call for parity, citing “urgent shortages” in social housing teams. FESAP insists any rewrite must include automatic promotion after ten years in the same step. Yet both federations fear a scenario where the state authorises reforms but refuses to foot part of the bill, leaving municipal finance departments scrambling for extra revenue.

One notable absentee from the public debate is the STAL (the municipal workers’ union historically closest to the PCP). Leadership sources tell us they will unveil a proposal in early spring that links career upgrades to mandatory staffing ratios in waste collection and water services—an approach some mayors consider too prescriptive.

Lessons—And Cautionary Tales—from Other Cities

Portugal lacks a standout success story, but several councils have tested piecemeal solutions:

• Porto offered a one-off €500 retention bonus to senior engineers who signed three-year commitments.

• Braga merged scattered IT roles into a single “digital transformation” career, giving staff access to the national senior-specialist grid.

• Faro negotiated with the finance ministry to fast-track housing inspectors into the higher technical tier after a rash of resignations.

Each scheme helped in the short term but also showed how case-by-case fixes risk widening disparities between richer and poorer municipalities.

The Road Ahead

The government’s own timetable says talks on polícia municipal, environmental wardens and local fiscal inspectors must open by September. Morais wants the discussion expanded to all 125,000 local public workers. He has support from mayors across the political map, but the decisive players sit in the ministries of Finance and Public Administration.

For residents, the outcome could shape everything from building-permit turnaround times to how quickly potholes are filled. For Portugal’s 308 councils, the question is stark: can they afford not to pay more if the alternative is losing staff to Lisbon, Brussels or the private sector?

Correction policy: This report relies on publicly available budget documents and statements from ANMP, UGT, FESAP and municipal sources; figures may be updated as 2026 drafts progress through local assemblies.