CGTP points out unconstitutionalities in the revision of labor law

The secretary-general of the CGTP stated this Tuesday that "there are two or three measures" in the Government's draft revision of labor legislation that are unconstitutional and criticized the "silence" of the President of the Republic on this matter.

"We understand that in this process, given the scale of the attack, given the scale of the problems [...] we cannot accept under any circumstances that the President of the Republic is remaining silent. It is unacceptable," said Tiago Oliveira, secretary-general of the CGTP, in statements to the Lusa news agency on the eve of the meeting with the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security.

At issue is the preliminary draft reform of labor legislation approved by the Government , which is still being negotiated with social partners and provides for the revision of “more than a hundred” articles of the Labor Code.

Both the CGTP and the UGT will meet separately with the President of the Republic on this matter on Friday, with the meetings scheduled for 3:00 pm and 4:00 pm, respectively.

On August 12, when asked about changes to labor law, Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa reaffirmed that he would only give his opinion once he received the legislation after it had been discussed in the Assembly of the Republic.

“Two or three [articles] have been discussed, which was the issue of mourning and then breastfeeding , nothing else has been discussed, but apparently, what the Government says is that it is still in a hearing and consultation phase, and then it will discuss it with the parliamentary parties,” said the Head of State at the time.

The CGTP considers that the Government's proposal represents "a true assault on workers' rights" as well as "a true setback" in labor policies and admits that some rules may be unconstitutional.

“There are two or three measures that, in the CGTP’s view, are unconstitutional,” says Tiago Oliveira, giving as an example “the facilitation of dismissals.”

"How can the Government include in its proposal that an employee subject to disciplinary proceedings with the intention of dismissal, should go to court to contest the dismissal, [...] and that if the employer wins the case in court, he can deny the reinstatement of that employee?", he asks, stressing that the Constitution prohibits dismissal without just cause.

Another example raised by the CGTP secretary-general concerns collective bargaining, which, according to him, "places in the hands of employers the decision of which collective agreement will be applied in companies," which violates "workers' freedom of association."

In this sense, the CGTP calls on the President of the Republic to speak out, stressing that the Head of State “swore to comply with and enforce the Constitution of the Republic” and “to represent all Portuguese people” and that “the majority of Portuguese people are being targeted by an attack of enormous proportions”.

The first social consultation meeting since the government's preliminary draft was presented is scheduled for September 10, according to the social partners who told Lusa. Bilateral meetings are also planned, according to an official source from the ministry, and on Wednesday, the CGTP and UGT will meet with the Minister of Labor, Solidarity, and Social Security.

“The minister showed openness to meeting with various organizations to discuss the draft bill […] but did not schedule any meeting,” criticizes Tiago Oliveira, in statements to Lusa, stressing that “the meeting was requested by the CGTP”.

"If the government were acting in good faith. If the government truly wanted to legislate in favor of workers, it would have already presented a completely different proposal and scheduled meetings itself," he adds, accusing the government of "putting the brakes on" to meet the "bosses' objectives," while workers are left to "play catch-up."

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