“It was a very fruitful meeting,” stated the Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security after the conclusion of the social concertation meeting, where the government presented its draft project aimed at revising labor legislation, which was approved today in the Council of Ministers.
Rosário Palma Ramalho indicated that the executive’s proposal covers “a significant set of matters” with the goal of “valuing all forms of work” while ensuring “the key rights of workers” are maintained.
Regarding changes to strike laws, specifically concerning minimum services, the minister emphasized that the idea is “to be a little more demanding in defining minimum services, without disregarding the right to strike,” making it “only compatible with other fundamental rights,” namely the rights to health, work, or “to move freely.”
Asked whether essential and indispensable services remain unchanged, she noted that in the government’s proposal “there is a new area which includes children’s care and care for the sick or disabled,” including those in continuing care, confirming that this area also encompasses daycares and nursing homes.
About changes in fixed-term employment contracts, according to the minister, the idea is to extend the duration of the first contract from six months to one year.
Regarding the maximum duration, taking renewals into account, the government proposes extending it from “two years to four” for fixed-term contracts and from four to five years for permanent contracts with uncertain terms.
When questioned by journalists about whether primary and secondary schools will be covered by minimum services, an official source stated that “it is not defined.”
On the possibility of purchasing vacation days, Rosário Palma Ramalho stated that the goal is to allow “two days of justified absences,” which can precede or follow the vacation period, with “a loss of remuneration,” but “without loss of any other associated privileges or rights.”
Concerning the individual time bank, the idea is “to indeed restore it, but in different terms from those that existed,” meaning “a time bank in a collective bargaining regime will now be subsidized, which did not exist in the past,” she emphasized, indicating that previously it existed for adaptability.
Asked by journalists, the minister also ruled out setting a deadline for concluding these negotiations within the framework of social concertation, noting that the discussion is only just beginning.
“Naturally, we would like it not to take a long time, but it is a complex legislative proposal, covering various areas, so, in this case, haste is the enemy of a good result,” she concluded.
According to business and trade union confederations, three meetings on the subject are already scheduled for September, with bilateral working meetings also planned.
