The position was announced by a deputy chairman of the parliamentary party, Vieira da Silva, who accused the government of trying to "hide behind the PS" by seeking consensus on fresh cuts to pensions.


"We shan't align nor shall we be partners in this saving of 600 million euros," said Vieira da Silva, himself a former social security minister. "We shall also not be partners in this new version of the war between the generations that is being stimulated by the government, with a view to setting young workers against pensioners."


Portugal's government had already sent a strategic document to the European Commission that includes savings of €600 million from the pensions systems, he noted.


"The latest attempt by the governing coalition is to hide behind the PS, saying that they want to make this saving, but only with the PS," Vieira da Silva went on. "But we clearly affirm that the PS is not a party to this saving, nor will it be."


Cutting the pensions of those who are already retired is not, he maintained a viable option - even if it could be framed in a way that is deemed constitutional, as previous proposals were not.


Portugal's pensions system is only sustainable in the long term if the economy recovers, and employment and salaries stabilise, he argued, adding that this is an argument for cutting employers' social security contributions, to boost jobs.


"It's a national priority to stop the tendency to devalue the contribution of employment to the future," he said. "So long as young Portuguese continue to gain qualifications with our resources and to go abroad, boosting other economies, there's a problem to be resolved."


However, he added, the cut in employers' contributions will only go ahead if steps to broaden the base of contributions to the system prove sufficient to offset the losses this implies.