Portugal's labour minister and the president of the Caixa Geral de Aposentações (CGA), the body that handles pensions for public-sector workers, are due to appear before Parliament to explain cuts to pensions, Diário de Notícias reports. The hearing was requested as part of parliamentary scrutiny of the reductions, according to the same outlet.
The CGA is set to correct around 3,000 pensions granted between May and August, Público reports. Under the process, pensioners reportedly have ten days to challenge the reductions, according to Expresso. Jornal de Negócios also reports that both the CGA and the labour minister will be heard in Parliament over the pension reductions.
The moves have drawn political criticism. Esquerda.net reports the reaction "O Governo tem de parar de cortar pensões da CGA" — the government must stop cutting CGA pensions.
The reporting indicates the reductions affect pensions that had already been awarded, not only new claims, which is why the corrections and the short window for contesting them have drawn attention. The exact scale of the cuts, the reasons behind them and how many pensioners are affected beyond the roughly 3,000 cases cited by Público are not set out in the material available.
What to watch next: the parliamentary hearing, where the labour minister and the CGA president are expected to face questions on why the reductions were applied and how affected pensioners can challenge them.
