Portugal expands social protection and simplifies access to benefits amid the pandemic.
People applying for social inclusion benefits no longer need to be registered at an employment center or prove that they are looking for work.
LISBON (Reuters) - Portugal expanded some social programs on Thursday for informal workers, people threatened by extreme poverty, and small business owners, the first measures announced since the end of a state of emergency caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
Extraordinary measures implemented to safeguard jobs during the health crisis have been extended to micro-enterprise managers with a turnover of up to 80 euros and freelancers in their first year of work who were not contributing to social security, the government said in a statement.
People applying for social inclusion benefits, which are aimed at those in extreme poverty to raise their total income to a maximum of 189 euros per month per family member, no longer need to be registered at an employment center or prove that they are actively seeking work to be eligible for assistance.
The required contribution period to Social Security, necessary for applicants to receive unemployment insurance, has also been reduced by half.
“To informal workers, self-employed workers, we say that we are here to support them. This is the moment to formalize their participation in public life,” said Prime Minister António Costa, removing his mask, which is mandatory for parliamentarians when they are not speaking.
Portugal, which has so far reported 26.715 cases of the new coronavirus and 1.105 deaths, downgraded its state of emergency to a "state of calamity" on Sunday, and a three-phase plan to open different sectors every 15 days came into effect on Monday.