“What the CGTP says, from the first moment, is ‘retract, withdraw this labor package from the table’, because contrary to what the Government announces – that it is a document aimed at modernization and adaptation to the 21st century – what we can denounce is that, yes, we are in the 21st century but heading towards the labor rights of the 19th century,” stated Tiago Oliveira.
Speaking to the Lusa agency on the sidelines of the Porto 2025 Social Forum, the leader of the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP) asserted that what is at stake is not to reverse this or that measure, but rather to retract the entire proposal.
“The issue here is that what was presented to the social partners was a package of more than 100 measures. And we cannot discuss one or another measure and allow the other 99 to pass because all are profound setbacks. Therefore, the appeal we can make is [that] they retract this proposal,” he emphasized.
Otherwise, he assured, “one certain thing: the workers’ struggle will show that the Government must retract.”
Emphasizing that “CGTP’s position is unwavering from the first minute,” Tiago Oliveira justified it as “the starting point where they placed the workers in this negotiation.”
“A Government that presents a draft revision of labor legislation where none of the proposals for change put forward by the CGTP is included, what is already negative today, and that includes all that are the desires and claims of employer associations, is a proposal that places the employers already at the finish line and the workers still in the locker room getting dressed,” he stated.
“Hence — he continued — when the minister says she is open to negotiation and that the CGTP was very quick to promptly say no to the draft that was presented, it would be good if she also said that the employers were as quick as the CGTP, but in praise of the draft.”
In this context, the CGTP reiterates “the appeal to the Government [to] withdraw this package of labor legislation from the discussion table,” considering that “it is profoundly negative for workers.”
“It facilitates dismissals, normalizes precariousness, completely deregulates working hours, prevents unions from accessing workplaces and discussing with workers, attacks collective bargaining and the right to strike. It is an attack on democracy,” concluded the union leader.
Convinced that if the executive of Luís Montenegro does not decide to retract, “the workers’ struggle” will force it to do so, Tiago Oliveira pointed to the national CGTP demonstration next Saturday as “a first warning step to the Government that if it wants to keep what is on the table, it will have to deal with the workers’ struggle.”
The Porto 2025 Social Forum is an initiative of the Portuguese Government, organized with the support of the European Commission, in collaboration with the European Parliament and the European Council, bringing together today and Friday more than 200 international leaders to debate “Quality Jobs in a Competitive Social Europe.”
