The Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security has been negotiating since early September with social partners, namely the UGT, on the draft law reforming labor legislation known as Trabalho XXI, as stated by Rosário Palma Ramalho’s office in a written statement.
Throughout the negotiation process, discussions have primarily taken place within Social Concertation on the proposed measures, it was added, while noting that no confirmation or denial has been made regarding any changes to the initial proposal as reported by various media outlets in recent hours.
This reaction follows a report by the newspaper Público stating that the new government proposal presented to the UGT included changes in several areas, particularly concerning dismissals, holidays, and breastfeeding.
According to the same newspaper, the new document allows for the reinstatement of the three holiday days associated with attendance abolished during the ‘troika,’ while dropping the possibility for workers to request up to two additional vacation days at the expense of their pay.
The executive also retreats from simplifying dismissals in medium-sized enterprises. Currently, an employee (who is not a member of a workers’ committee or a union representative) targeted for dismissal has the right to present witnesses to defend against company accusations, which must be heard before any decision is made.
However, microenterprises operate under an exceptional regime that allows for some of these formalities to be waived, and the Government’s initial idea was to extend this possibility to larger companies.
Still according to Público, the reduction by half of mandatory training hours in microenterprises will not proceed, maintaining the obligatory 40 hours per year and ensuring training for part-time workers.
On the other hand, the Government intends to increase from 14 to 15 days the compensation for collective dismissals and adjusts the proposal allowing holiday and Christmas bonuses to be paid in twelfths, depending on an agreement between worker and employer, rather than solely on the worker’s expressed will, as was initially proposed.
In terms of breastfeeding exemptions, the Government upholds limiting the exemption (which reduces the daily working hours by two) to a two-year maximum.
However, contrary to the initial proposal that required a medical certificate right from the start, the new proposal maintains the current regime, indicating this proof is only necessary if breastfeeding extends beyond the first year of the child’s life. In such cases, the certificate must be presented every six months.
The executive continues to pursue the elimination of the absence for gestational mourning but includes it under the leave for pregnancy interruption. Thus, under the new proposal, the mother is “always” entitled to leave lasting between 14 and 30 days, while the father is entitled to up to three consecutive days of absence.
Simultaneously, as indicated by the Minister of Labor, the Government plans to introduce a continuous workday in the private sector for workers with children under 12 or, regardless of age, with disabilities, chronic illnesses, or cancer.
The Government’s draft for revising labor legislation, currently being discussed with social partners in Social Concertation, proposes reviewing “more than a hundred” articles of the Labor Code.
The proposal has faced significant criticism from CGTP and UGT, which have announced a general strike for December 11, marking the first joint stoppage since June 2013 when Portugal was under the ‘troika’ intervention.
On Thursday, during a press conference about the approval of the general strike by the UGT General Council, Mário Mourão stated he received a new proposal from the Government “two or three days ago” but warned it is “very little” to call off the strike.
