The coalition of the centre-right Social Democrat Party (Partido Social Democrata, PPD/PSD) and the right-wing People's Party (Partido Popular, CDS/PP), elected in March 2002, continued to govern during 2003. There were no elections during the year.
In September 2003, Portugal's two main trade union confederations, CGTP and UGT, presented their demands for 2004, following a year of falling real pay, rising unemployment and tightening public expenditure. The unions are focusing on pay rises in 2004 that will improve workers’ purchasing power
A report published in September 2003 by the Directorate-General of Employment and Labour Relations (Direcção-Geral do Emprego e das Relações de Trabalho, DGERT) at the Ministry of Social Security and Labour (Ministério da Segurança Social e do Trabalho, MSST) finds that in the first half of 2003 the
A seminar on corporate social responsibility (CSR) held in Portugal in June 2003 aimed to promote debate on the issue with a view to improving understanding of the principles and practices involved. The occasion presented the social partners with an opportunity to give their views on CSR, and they
In May 2003, Portugal's tripartite Economic and Social Council (CES) has a new president who is in favour of extending the range of interest groups represented on the Council. Meanwhile, parliament is debating draft legislation which will change the composition of one of the CES's constituent bodies
Unemployment increased sharply in Portugal during 2002 and the early months of 2003. Trade unions attribute much of the rise to economic effects of the government's policy of controlling public debt and expenditure, and have called for a different approach. The CGTP union confederation organised a
A general election was held on 17 March 2002, following the resignation of Prime Minister António Guterres after poor local election results in December 2001. The governing Socialist Party (Partido Socialista, PS) was defeated - winning 38% of the vote - and replaced by a coalition of the centre
In December 2002, a number of amendments were approved to Portugal's law on immigration, governing the entry and residence of non-EEA foreign nationals. The changes provide for a periodical analysis of the Portuguese labour market as a fundamental factor in deciding the entry of foreign nationals
At the end of 2002, Portugal's complicated and often overlapping system of collective bargaining is highly topical, as the government's proposal for labour law reform (in the form of a new Labour Code) seeks to overhaul some of the existing bargaining mechanisms. The situation is illustrated by the
On 10 December 2002, CGTP - one of Portugal's two main trade union confederations - organised a one-day 'general' strike. The main aims were to apply pressure in negotiations over the government's proposal for a Labour Code and to call for fairer social and wage policies. The proposed Labour Code