“I heard today that the Government intended to return to meet with UGT and that UGT responded with a desire to return to the negotiation table. The most important thing to tell the Government is: they must have humility, stop being full of themselves, and be able to listen to the representatives of the workers”, stated José Luís Carneiro at a Christmas dinner with supporters in Baião, Porto district.
Regarding the labor package, the PS leader mentioned that “nothing indicated the Government would go so far with the disruption in workers’ fundamental rights.”
“Specifically, in the way they attempted to launch our country’s youth into precariousness, the way they tried to increase vulnerabilities for already vulnerable workers in the labor market, such as domestics, agricultural workers, construction workers, and also how they sought to open the door to dismissal without cause,” exemplified the PS secretary-general.
In this context, he advised the Government led by Luís Montenegro to have humility, abandon arrogance, and be sensitive to “the arguments of those who democratically and legitimately represent the legitimate interests of the workers.”
When asked about the Government’s assessment of the adherence and impact of Thursday’s general strike, considering it “insignificant,” José Luís Carneiro believes this stance is typical of a Government that, “being full of itself, cannot hear what the Portuguese, more than three million workers, conveyed that day.”
“To deny an objective reality that halted vital sectors, both in the public and private economy, shows the haughtiness, arrogance, and insensitivity of a Government to which I, again, advise humility, simplicity in their relationship with opposition parties and also with worker representatives, otherwise they are on the wrong path,” warned the PS leader.
Regarding the labor package proposed by the Government, José Luís Carneiro repeated that there are “insurmountable issues” that will always have PS’s firm opposition, adding that “the Government cannot want to negotiate while maintaining the main pillars” of the document.
“What are the main pillars? Among others, dismissal without cause, increasing fixed-term contracts and [their] extension from two to three years and from three to four years, no longer penalizing informal, undeclared work, essentially encouraging the informal economy, and also the way it offends women and families in balancing personal and professional life. These are insurmountable issues that will face our firm opposition, at all times. They must indeed return to square one,” stressed the PS secretary-general.
While acknowledging that the global economy faces significant changes with technology and Artificial Intelligence, José Luís Carneiro stated that the PS is open to “a broad national debate” with the forces involved in social dialogue, representing both workers and companies, to collectively address new challenges, providing assurance.
“We will never be willing to undermine workers’ rights and attack the foundational pillars that are civilizational benchmarks, set by a Government that, at no time, neither in the electoral campaign nor in the electoral program, contrary to what was claimed, brought these issues for discussion with Portuguese society,” stated José Luís Carneiro.
