Portugal Hikes Wages as Inflation Nears 30%

Lisbon — With inflation approaching 30%, the Portuguese government said that it hs raised national minimium wages between 23% to 30%.

Labor Minister Amandio de Azevedo said the minimum wage for industrial and service workers was raised 23% to the equivalent of $111 a month. For agricultural laborers, the minimum was raised 26.8% to $95 a month. Domestic servants got 30% raises to $75 a month.

In a seperate report, the National Statistics Institute said inflation in 1984 was 29.3%, largely because of increases in state-controlled prices of fuel, electricity and public transporataion and a devaluation of the escudo against the dollar.