Additional pay dispute in Portugal's border police: Government and unions could not reach an agreement

An agreement could not be reached between the government and the PSP and GNR unions regarding the additional payment to be made to the security forces working at Unidade Nacional de Estrangeiros e Fronteiras (UNEF), which undertakes a critical task in terms of airports and border control in Portugal.

Discussions are particularly focused on the amount of additional payments to be made to employees in response to the increased responsibility of border duties.

Why is UNEF important?

Following the abolition of the SEF, tasks in Portugal's immigration and border system were distributed among different institutions.

While administrative immigration and residence procedures were transferred to AIMA, border security and police duties were transferred to the security forces.

UNEF plays an important role in the border control leg of this new structure.

So the debate isn't just about police salaries; It also concerns the staffing structure of border operations at busy international airports such as Lisboa, Porto and Faro.

Why couldn't the government and unions agree?

The level of special additional payment for UNEF staff was discussed during the meetings.

The union side argues that eliminating some existing payments when calculating the proposed new payment could limit workers' real income growth.

In the last meeting between the government and representatives, no agreement was reached on a common figure.

Is there an immediate change for passengers?

At this stage the dispute is over border control at Portuguese airports. There is no explanation that it means that it has stopped or that a new procedure has started for passengers.

For this reason, the issue should not be interpreted as "a new crisis has begun in airports".

However, if the negotiations turn into work stoppages, protests or other union actions in the future, it may gain importance in terms of passenger transactions, especially during busy travel periods.

PTNewsHub will follow developments.

Resources

RTP — September 18, 2026

Border police talks