“I only hope that if the Government recognizes the need to change labor legislation and make it more flexible as a priority, it does not simply reverse this priority just because it encounters social resistance,” stated João Cotrim Figueiredo in remarks to journalists after visiting the Dona Ajuda institution in Lisbon.
The presidential candidate, supported by IL, noted that when discussing worker participation in the general strike scheduled for this Thursday against the Government’s proposed labor package, it is crucial to examine the facts.
Cotrim Figueiredo highlighted that one fact is the general strike was called by the two union confederations (CGTP and UGT), which “had not happened for quite some time” and is “very significant.” Another fact is that it saw “a significant level of participation and also significant demonstrations.”
“But the fact is also that it was mostly in the public sector. The data known so far from the private sector shows adherence levels that vary between sectors but are quite lower than in the public sector,” he noted.
For the presidential candidate, supported by IL, this “gives pause for thought, especially since the vast majority of the proposed changes to the Labor Code do not affect the public service labor law.”
“They won’t even affect the people who went on strike, who were in the demonstrations,” he pointed out, questioning why, if the harm caused by the labor law changes is so great, there wasn’t “greater mobilization from those directly affected by these measures.”
Cotrim Figueiredo also wanted to warn the Government that “any reform worthy of its name and necessary in Portugal — and there are several — will face resistance.”
“Governments that give the impression that they simply abandon their objectives because they face resistance are not truly reformist,” he warned.
Asked if Thursday’s mobilization would make him reconsider his promise, should he be elected President, to approve the Government’s labor package, Cotrim Figueiredo said he maintains exactly the same opinion.
“The principle of wanting to change labor legislation seems absolutely inescapable to me. Moreover, many are asked whether they would approve the proposed changes. I have never seen unions asked what changes they would accept, these or others. Because the answer would be none,” he criticized.
For Cotrim Figueiredo, “it is this type of immobility and stagnation that has led the country to the situation it is in.”
Regarding the fact that the Minister of Labor convened UGT for a meeting on Tuesday, Cotrim Figueiredo said he welcomed the negotiation and is sure that the final version of the labor package will not be the same as the initial one.
“But let it be clear in the minds of the rulers what things were absolutely essential to change and that these things must be in the final version. That seems essential to me. Otherwise, we are thinking half-hearted reforms can achieve more results,” he said.
About his visit to Dona Ajuda, a social institution that helps people in need, the presidential candidate said he wanted to show that, in his vision for Portugal, “everyone counts” and assured that, as President, he would look to “understand what are the obstacles or impediments to making the fight against poverty more effective in Portugal.”
