Portugal: social partners come together to conclude decent work agenda

Ana Mendes, Portugal’s Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, met with representatives of the employers’ and trade union confederations on 11 May, at the Standing Committee for Social Dialogue (CPCS). The aim of the meeting was to “quickly” conclude the government’s decent work agenda (see article n°12758), however there is yet to be a commitment on a date for the bill’s submission to parliament. The government’s objective is to make progress on the subjects that were approved during the previous legislature and that had not been negotiated by the social partners. The issues on the agenda: the increase in compensation paid by companies at the end of a fixed-term contract, from 18 to 24 days’ pay, and the restoration of overtime pay, which had been in force until 2012, paid above the threshold of 120 hours per year. At the time, these measures provoked the ire of the employers, with their representative body suspending its participation in the CPCS following their announcement. On the trade union side, the government’s proposals were also greeted with criticism. Isabel Camarinha, the secretary general of the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), said that some of the proposals introduced were “positive” but “insufficient”. In her view, the partial nature of overtime pay is not helpful, as the measure only applies to overtime hours worked in excess of 120 hours per year. The social partners have until 20 May to send in their contributions, ahead of the next meeting scheduled for 25 May.