Last week, the government approved a brake rule that prevents the unemployed from receiving less than 421.32 euros of benefit because of the 10% reduction that is applied from the seventh month of payment of the benefit, which will benefit around 136,000 people. This is something that has long been demanded by the ombudsman, José de Faria Costa, as it does not guarantee the unemployed a minimum benefit. But only now, after the Portuguese Parliament unanimously approved a recommendation to the executive, has the problem been solved. Already this year, at the end of March, the Assembly of the Republic unanimously approved a recommendation challenging the executive to guarantee that no one receives less than 421.32 euros of unemployment benefit, ending the 10% cut when it comes to benefits of this amount. Both the CFP and the BE want to go further and eliminate this reduction in all situations, regardless of the amount of the benefit. The intention of the two parties supporting the Socialist Government is that the end of the 10% cut for all will be decided in the coming months, in order to ensure that in the 2018 State Budget the measure is already appropriate.
