“The PCP has just submitted a bill to the Assembly of the Republic to establish a minimum of 25 working days of annual leave for all workers, both in the private sectors and public administration,” communist deputy Alfredo Maia announced today during a press conference at the party’s headquarters in Porto.
With this legislative initiative, the PCP also proposes, besides reinstating the right to “25 working days of leave until the worker reaches 39 years of age,” to increase to “26 working days until the worker reaches 49 years of age,” increase to “27 working days until the worker reaches 59 years,” and increase to “28 working days from 59 years of age onwards,” as stated in the bill accessed by Lusa.
According to Alfredo Maia, this bill aims to “restore a right that was once enshrined in law, albeit imperfectly.”
“Regarding public administration workers, there was indeed, in terms of compensation with days according to the workers’ age. In the private sector and the state business sector, this right was granted as a reward for workers’ attendance. Those with no absences could have up to three more days of leave,” explained the deputy.
The PCP intends to “enshrine the effective right to 25 working days of leave,” taking into account the need to ensure rest for workers who, according to Alfredo Maia, are being “subjected to rhythms and intensities of exploitation in their work.”
“There is also the guarantee of an additional working day of leave for every ten years of service effectively rendered,” the bill reads.
With this bill, the PCP wants to secure an “effective right regardless of the conditions for obtaining it.”
Alfredo Maia considers this a “progress compared to the regime that prevailed until 2012 and was then revoked by the PSD/CDS government.”
The PCP expresses hope that the bill will be approved.
“We hope it will be accepted because it is only fair that it should be. It is about recognizing workers’ effective right to an increase in the number of leave days, as this increase is indeed essential for restoring energy, to ensure a longer rest period that is justified in view of current working conditions,” he concluded.
When asked by Lusa about the four-day workweek, deputy Alfredo Maia explained that the PCP advocates, first and foremost, the need to ensure “the reduction of the workday to 35 hours a week for all workers in all sectors and the limit of seven hours daily.”
“When that proposal is concretely on the table, we will state our position, which is, from the outset, the guarantee that there is a reduction in the workday without loss of compensation,” he said.
“In the event of moving towards such a model, it is necessary to ensure that under no circumstances is the worker penalized in their work compensation, and therefore, even in a four-day scenario, the compensation cannot be reduced in terms of working compensation, or in terms of the duration of the leave period, or any additional conditioning on the setting of vacations,” he added.
