“The negotiations are taking place inside [at Social Concertation, ‘behind closed doors’], and I hope in a constructive climate. I have no reason to doubt this constructive climate, as it has been the case for the past year and a half,” stated Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, on the sidelines of the Porto 2025 Social Forum, which today and Friday brings together over 200 international leaders to discuss “Quality Jobs in a Competitive Social Europe.”
Highlighting that only after these negotiations will proceedings move to “the approval phase of the draft law and discussion in parliament,” the minister emphasized expecting, “at this specific stage, a constructive dialogue from the social partners, which has already begun.”
In response to criticisms regarding the timing chosen by the Government to proceed with this labor reform, particularly from former socialist minister Ana Mendes Godinho and the president of the Portuguese Commerce and Services Confederation (CCP), João Vieira Lopes, Rosário Palma Ramalho defended that it is the right time.
“Regarding the timing, it was indeed mentioned that it was not appropriate. The Government does not agree with this view, as we need higher wages, greater productivity and, above all, we are not in a crisis where immediate action is necessary,” she argued.
“When we are in a calmer period, we should contemplate structural reforms because we have time to reflect on them, which is what we are doing,” she emphasized.
Assuring that the Government is in no rush—”we presented the preliminary draft on July 24 and are now discussing it calmly,” she clarified—the minister reiterated that this is “a very good time precisely to reflect.”
“All countries are doing it, so why not us?” she questioned.
Regarding the timing of the labor law reform, the official noted that it “is in the Government’s program and was also in the previous government’s program,” and is furthermore “included in the tripartite agreement on wage appreciation and economic growth signed with the social partners on October 1, 2024.”
“Therefore, we are expressly fulfilling a clause of the agreement, which surely all parties would know, as it was public,” she concluded.
On the anticipated changes in the labor reform, Rosário da Palma Ramalho assured that “the quality of employment is not—and has never been—in question,” emphasizing that “increasing competitiveness is, in fact, crucial to enhancing job quality, as it will enable, for example, higher wages.”
“We have full employment, but very low wages, and thus job quality also involves raising salaries. We also have a productivity deficit of 25% compared to the European average. So, evidently, competitiveness will promote productivity and better wages and living conditions for workers,” she stated.
The minister further argued that the draft labor reform “includes numerous provisions directly strengthening the rights of those who have not received much attention from trade unions,” citing examples such as “enhancing initial parental leave, doubling the time for paternity leave when a child is born, various compensations for workers, and eliminating the need to return compensations received in numerous situations.”
