The proposed revision of labour legislation is set to be approved this Thursday, 14th May, at a meeting of the Council of Ministers before proceeding to Parliament, where it will be debated. The announcement was made on Wednesday by the Prime Minister during the inauguration ceremony of the new president of the Portuguese Confederation of Commerce and Services (CCP).
Luís Montenegro, who earlier on Wednesday met with Chega leader André Ventura, said the Government intends to engage in dialogue with the “political forces capable of enabling” the controversial labour reform package.
“The Government’s objective was to reach an agreement [with the unions], thereby strengthening, from the standpoint of parliamentary scrutiny, the level of support that Members of Parliament could naturally assess in terms of the impact on businesses and from the perspective of the trade union confederations. That proved impossible, as we now know, and therefore, as we have always maintained, the time has come for political dialogue between the parties,” the Prime Minister said following the swearing-in of Gustavo Paulo Duarte, who succeeds João Vieira Lopes at the head of the CCP.
Montenegro stressed that the Government’s proposed labour package is “very robust”, arguing that it is essential to “build a more competitive economy, increase productivity and enable higher wages”. As leader of the party holding the largest number of seats in Parliament, he added, he would “fulfil his duty: to talk, to engage in dialogue and to negotiate, should there be willingness, with the political forces capable of enabling this legislation”.
“This does not mean that other parties have no role to play, but it is evident that the two largest opposition parties possess the parliamentary strength either to enable or to block the proposal,” he said.
Asked about his afternoon meeting with André Ventura to discuss both the labour reform and the proposed ancillary penalty of loss of nationality, deemed unconstitutional by judges at the Constitutional Court, the Prime Minister confirmed only that Chega had shown “availability” to negotiate.
“I also have, from the consultations I have carried out, a statement from the Secretary-General of the Socialist Party indicating a similar willingness, which I will personally confirm when the opportunity arises. Therefore, if both of the largest opposition parties are, as it appears, willing to engage, we must move to the next stage: examining, point by point, the areas where common ground may exist,” he said.
Source: LUSA
