The national secretariat of Fesap, affiliated with the UGT, has unanimously and enthusiastically approved a general strike pre-notice, responding to Labor Minister Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, who had deemed the strike “inopportune” amid ongoing negotiations in Social Concertation.
“The government’s labor reform proposal is what’s inopportune,” stated José Abraão at a press conference in Lisbon, urging conditions to be created for the government to “reconsider” their proposal, which he labeled as “untimely and unjustified,” and to push towards restoring negotiations for a tripartite agreement in Social Concertation.
Noting the prime minister’s assertion that unions serve either “the PS or the PC,” the Fesap general secretary urged the head of government to “respect the autonomy of the union movement,” where decisions are made “independently.”
“I appeal to the Prime Minister not to associate us with political parties or presidential candidates,” he said.
“This reform comes at an inappropriate time, in a context of economic growth, financial stability, and a dynamic labor market,” reads the resolution approved by Fesap’s secretariat.
Key changes such as individual hour banks, temporary hiring, dismissals, outsourcing, parental leave, and professional training lead Fesap to view the government’s labor reform proposal as “untimely, disproportionate, and unjustified.”
The union leader also deemed the failure to restore the three vacation days removed by the PSD/CDS government of Passos Coelho unacceptable, as well as the five “cold” vacation days if taken outside the summer period.
“We cannot allow the commodification of the right to work in our country, with dismissals almost without rules,” he emphasized.
Moments before delivering the strike pre-notice to the Ministry of Labor, José Abraão expressed hope that the December 11 protest would be a “major strike,” with significant participation from workers, becoming one of the largest in recent years.
“We will be actively and determinedly participating in the December 11th strike called by the UGT, hoping it will be among the significant strikes of recent years,” he reiterated.
Fesap comprises 45 union organizations across all areas of State Administration.
The general strike on December 11 against the government’s draft labor law reform marks the first joint stoppage of the two union centers, CGTP and UGT, since June 2013, when Portugal was under the ‘troika’ intervention.
