The Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, is convinced that the general strike will proceed, despite considering it “inopportune”.
“The Government always hopes that, until the very last moment, UGT might retreat, but it is now clear that there is little room for UGT to step back, and therefore the [general strike] will certainly occur,” she stated in the Grande Entrevista on RTP, on the same day she attended a meeting in São Bento with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and UGT Secretary-General Mário Mourão.
Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho described the strike as “inopportune”, not from CGTP’s side – “who from the first moment we started discussing this draft project said that this is what they would do”, but from UGT’s side as well, because UGT has been a partner that has negotiated a lot with the Government on this project.
For this reason, she explains, the General Union of Workers “caught the Government by surprise,” since “the environment is of great cordiality in negotiation,” as it was again in the meeting this afternoon.
Regarding making UGT retreat, the official explained that in relation to the strike, that probably won’t happen because “there is no longer sufficient time” but, “in terms of the negotiations themselves,” there is scope for that. “This package was presented as a draft project, so it is a normative solution in development, and we are building it in good faith,” she assured.
In fact, according to the minister, the package was named a draft project precisely to reach “an intermediate path” with “convergences of positions from both sides”.
Therefore, she argues, “the strike is somewhat perplexing,” as its impact will always be “significant”.
“The strike should be the last resort, so when we are negotiating, when there are things proposed on the table, counter-proposals, it is inopportune to carry out a strike,” asserted Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho.
The official emphasized that the labor law changes under discussion are not “a reform of the Minister of Labor,” but of the Government: “It fell to me to lead the negotiation process,” she explained, but the Prime Minister’s involvement – in receiving UGT at São Bento today – is not a disavowal, she argued.
“It is not my place, as a minister, to feel discredited by the Prime Minister. The Prime Minister is the head of this Government and the project is, obviously, also his,” she stated.
“The strike is a harmful tool”
Asked whether this strike marks the end of “social peace,” Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho rejected this notion. “This Government, in a year and a half, has managed to restore a lot of social peace. Note that the Government has valued no less than twenty careers that were, some of them, in a breakdown with the Government,” she argued, citing the example of teachers, healthcare professionals, and firefighters.
“I believe this is a manifestation of pressure from the unions in a very specific context, which is the context of negotiating the draft labor reform. On the other hand, UGT has already assured us that it maintains its position of dialogue,” the minister also noted.
Without yet having estimates about the economic costs of this general strike, the minister insisted on the “social impact that all these strikes have.” “The strike is a harmful tool,” she concluded, although she acknowledged the “fundamental right” to strike. However, in this negotiation context, “she does not understand it.”
