In a press release, which the Lusa agency had access to, the union headquarters stressed that it was "with perplexity" that they became aware of the announcement of a 30,000-kwanza (33.57-euro) increase in public administration salaries by the president of the MPLA, the party in power, in his capacity as head of the executive branch, João Lourenço. The announcement was made today by João Lourenço, when he spoke at the opening of the meeting of the Central Committee of the Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola (MPLA). The Angolan President today approved the supplementary remuneration of 30,000 kwanzas for public servants and administrative agents of the general regime of the civil service, which takes effect from 1 June. For the union headquarters, the announcement of this increase, starting in June, "does not respond to the concerns included in the list of demands", which relate to updating not only the salaries of the public administration, in the order of 100%, but also the minimum wage in the order of 100,000 kwanzas (111.9 euros), as well as the reduction of the tax burden, "which has been a true lion in the face of the workers' meagre income". "The union headquarters consider, on the other hand, that the unilateral position of the Government to determine what it should or should not offer to workers, regardless of the cost of living and the level of inflation, reflects the Government's indifference to the real concerns of the workers", the note states. These union forces recall that the current demand aims not only to see the salary of the public administration updated, but also of the public and private business sector, through the updating of the minimum wage and the reduction of the tax burden. "In view of the indifference, as well as the absence of concrete proposals in the negotiations, the union headquarters reaffirm the suspension of all activities starting on Monday", the note reads. In the list of demands, presented in September 2023 to the President of the Republic, the three union headquarters demand the increase of the national minimum wage, from the current 32,000 kwanzas (35 euros), to 245,000 kwanzas (268 euros), a proposal that has been "flexibilised", however, to 100,000 kwanzas (109 euros), a readjustment of the Civil Service salary, in the order of 250 percent, and a 10% reduction in the Income Tax on Work (IRT). The Angolan executive decided to propose a minimum wage based on the size of the company, namely 48,000 kwanzas (52 euros) for small companies, 70,000 kwanzas (76 euros) for medium-sized companies and 96,000 kwanzas (104 euros) for large companies, which was rejected by the unions. The three union headquarters - General Headquarters of Independent and Free Unions of Angola (CGSILA), the National Union of Angolan Workers - Union Confederation (UNTA-CS) and the Union Force - Union Headquarters (FS-CS) -- also demand the updating of the subsidies provided for in the social benefits system of the National Institute of Social Security (INSS), as well as the shared management of INSS funds, conferring "the necessary transparency".  For the first time, the three union headquarters joined together to hold an interpolated general strike, with the first phase of the strike, which ran from 20 to 22 March, being marked by coercion and arrests of workers who joined the strike. Read Also: Angolan President approves supplementary salary for public servants (Portuguese version)