Nearly 24,700 people have signed an online petition opposing setbacks in the rights of women, mothers, and babies, while another petition advocating for family rights has gathered over 14,000 signatures, both in response to recent proposals for changes to labor laws.
Both petitions are featured on the ‘Petição Pública’ website and are among the most active petitions listed.
The petition against ‘unacceptable setbacks in the rights of women, mothers, and babies’, which had 24,649 signatures this morning, calls for the Assembly of the Republic to reject or amend proposals that limit breastfeeding leave to two years, oppose the revocation of leave for gestational bereavement, and oppose changes to flexible working hours.
Regarding breastfeeding leave, the petitioners argue that the government’s proposed changes are “an attack on health, science, and motherhood,” disregarding World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations that support breastfeeding up to two years.
The petitioners claim that this legislative change contradicts the promotion of birth rates, which the government itself aims to encourage, presents an obstacle to balancing work and family life, and incentivizes early and forced weaning, with potential long-term negative impacts.
The petition also opposes the removal of the right to three days of justified and paid leave in cases of gestational bereavement, criticizing that the government’s proposal, by eliminating this right, relegates gestational loss “to silence, oblivion, and invisibility.”
Regarding flexible working hours, they argue it is “a reality that helps families achieve a balance between personal and professional life and remain present in their children’s lives and growth.”
The petition titled ‘Open Letter for Family Rights’, which had 14,033 signatures this morning, has similar objectives, urging the Assembly of the Republic and the government not to proceed with a set of changes to labor laws, considering them “a serious setback in labor, social, and family rights, with a special impact on women, children, and families.”
“The measures contemplated negatively affect central aspects of parental policy, maternal and child health, and work-life balance, contradicting international recommendations, publicly assumed commitments, and the best available scientific knowledge,” the petitioners assert.
They advocate for the rejection of any proposal that limits breastfeeding leave to two years, rejects the revocation of the right to a three-day leave in cases of gestational bereavement, and maintains the current flexible working hours regime.
This petition also calls for the rejection of the obligation to share parental leave for it to be paid at 100%, allowing each family to decide, based on their reality, how to manage this crucial time without facing financial penalties.
It warns of the “direct and lasting impact on thousands of Portuguese families” as a result of these legislative proposals, and appeals to all parliamentary groups “to assume their historical responsibility and reject any setback in matters so central to the future of families and children in Portugal.”
“We equally call on the government to reevaluate these measures, reaffirming the commitment to equality, public health, combating precariousness, and promoting conscious and respected parenting,” it reads further.
The proposed changes to labor legislation that the government is preparing to implement form part of a draft project submitted last week to social partners in the context of Social Concertation.
