Some of the new administrators at the Treasury Management and Public Debt Agency (IGCP) who took office last September are on a monthly salary well above that of Portugal’s Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho and indeed the President of the Republic, Cavaco Silva.
A notice in the Official Gazette last Friday noted the new salaries of the three new members of the IGCP board.
Cristina Casalinho, the president of the board, will earn a monthly income of €6,998, António Correia is on €7,960 and Maria Eduarda Vicente will struggle by on €8,500, all backdated to last September.
In comparison, the post of President of the Republic commands a salary of €7,415 per month and Passos Coelho’s salary in 2012 was € 5,722 per month.
The IGCP is the public body responsible for managing the treasury and public debt, also the debts of public entities whose funding is part of the state budget.
These public sector salaries are slim when compared to the riches that lie ahead for former politicians and top civil servants when they leave to join the private sector.
As an example, Pedro Passos Coelho’s former right-hand man in negotiations with the Troika, Eduardo Catroga, joined EDP in 2012 where he was enticed by a salary of €639,000 a year, over €45,000 a month for 14 months, plus a pension contribution of €9,600 a month.
As President of the General and Supervisory Board of EDP whcih now is owned by the Chinese 'Three Gorges Company,' Catroga took over from António de Almeida who was on the same wedge since 2010.
Portugal's net average wage, for those lucky enough to have a job, is under €1,000 a month, Switzerland's is €4,120.
