Key figures — as of 2026-10-04: CGTP-IN demands a €1,100 national minimum wage for 2027 — the current tripartite agreement sets it at €970 for 2027, up from €920 in 2026 — nationwide marches are called for Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra on 17 October — the next Concertação Social meeting, which could reopen the figure, falls four days later on 21 October.
Why this matters beyond Portuguese payslips
Portugal's largest union confederation, CGTP-IN, has called what its secretary-general Tiago Oliveira described as a "grande manifestação nacional" a realizar-se em Lisboa, Porto e Coimbra para dia 17 de outubro. The demand driving it is specific: a wage increase of at least 15%, with a minimum of €150, for all workers in 2027, and a rise in the national minimum wage to €1,100 next year.
That number lands squarely on top of an already-signed deal. Under the 2025–2028 tripartite income agreement, the minimum wage trajectory runs progressively from €870 to €920 in 2026, to €970 in 2027, and to €1,020 in 2028. CGTP wants 2027's figure pushed more than €130 past what government, the four employer confederations and the rival union UGT already put their names to.
For foreigners, the minimum wage isn't just a domestic labour statistic. It's the baseline figure AIMA and Finanças use to calculate several visa income thresholds — most visibly the D7 passive-income visa and the D8 digital nomad visa, whose required monthly income is set as a multiple of the minimum wage.
The street action and the table talks aren't on the same calendar — yet
The timing is pointed. CGTP's month-long mobilisation campaign runs between 17 September and 17 October, aiming to involve workers in discussing the confederation's demands for 2027, building toward simultaneous demonstrations in the three cities, where organisers expect "thousands and thousands" of workers. A regional warm-up already happened in the Algarve, where unions held a Portimão protest confirming that CGTP-IN is planning further nationwide action, including demonstrations in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra on 17 October.
Four days later, the formal negotiating table reopens. The next Concertação Social meeting is scheduled for 21 October, where the minimum wage for 2027 is expected to resurface after being raised informally — but not on the agenda — at the September session. At that earlier meeting, the Labour Minister said plainly that revising the figure upward "is always something the Government is open to. At this moment, it is not on the table." Employer groups have been blunter still: the tourism confederation's president insisted "we signed the agreement to raise the minimum wage by €50 in 2027, and that is what will be delivered," adding "we agree to go from €920 to €970."
UGT, the other major union confederation, has staked out middle ground, proposing a minimum wage of at least €1,000 next year rather than CGTP's €1,100 — splitting the labour movement even as both push past the signed €970.
GrowIN's calculation: the number CGTP wants is already government policy — just two years early
Here's the detail that sharpens the story. Buried in the government's own programme is a commitment that the minimum wage should reach €1,100 gross per month by 2029. CGTP isn't inventing a number out of thin air — it's demanding the government's 2029 destination arrive in 2027, compressing a four-year glide path into two.
Run that through the visa-threshold formula and the stakes for foreign applicants become concrete. The D8 digital nomad visa requires income at four times the minimum wage — €3,680/month against today's €920 baseline, per AIMA's rules. Under the signed 2027 figure of €970, that threshold rises to €3,880/month. Under CGTP's €1,100 demand, it jumps to €4,400/month — a difference of €720/month, or roughly 19.6%, between the agreed path and the union's ask. For a prospective digital nomad applicant, that's the gap between a modest cost-of-living adjustment and a meaningfully higher bar to qualify. GrowIN Portugal Editorial's reading: whichever number wins at the negotiating table on 21 October will quietly reset the entry price for Portugal's remote-work visa well before most applicants notice.
What to watch next
The 21 October Concertação Social session is the one that actually decides anything — street numbers on the 17th create pressure, but the minimum wage for 2027 only changes if government, unions and employers jointly reopen the signed accord. Anyone relying on current D7 or D8 income thresholds for a 2027 application should treat today's figures as provisional and check AIMA's published requirements again once the State Budget for 2027 and any revised Concertação Social agreement are confirmed. Readers planning a visa application timed to the 2026 figures can review current thresholds in our visas hub.
Whatever number emerges from this month's tug-of-war, foreign workers and applicants alike will be doing the same maths CGTP just put on the table.