“I think there is time to keep discussing and reconciling views, I think so,” stated Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa in response to journalists’ questions at the Carcavelos Campus of the Nova University of Lisbon, in the municipality of Cascais, Lisbon district.
The head of state noted that the draft proposal presented in July by the PSD/CDS-PP government “has been undergoing changes over time,” some of which were reported today, “on important points,” and that “there are bilateral contacts with the confederations” and “there will certainly be one or several social dialogue meetings.”
The President of the Republic further emphasized that a new law will have to be voted on in the Assembly of the Republic, expressing confidence that “parliament will carefully consider this,” concluding that there is time for dialogue and aligning positions.
When asked if he was thinking about the period after the general strike called by CGTP and UGT for December 11, or if he admits its suspension, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa replied that “he immediately said the strike was a legitimate, legal stance, but that there was more future in the process after that strike.”
“And that future means there is more time to discuss the law,” he added.
Among the changes in the government’s draft labor law revision are the extension of fixed-term contract durations, the return of the individual time bank, the removal of barriers to external hiring after layoffs, the revision of parental leave, and the strengthening of mandatory minimum services in case of strikes.
