Portugal’s two trade union confederations are highly concerned about the effects of the global economic crisis, particularly in relation to the rise in unemployment. They have presented a number of proposals to the government, demanding practical measures to protect jobs, combat dismissals and provide further social protection for unemployed people. In addition, the trade union confederations call for more measures to protect workers’ rights.
The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses, CGTP) and the General Workers’ Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores, UGT) have been very concerned about the effects of the global economic crisis in Portugal and its developments in economic and social terms, particularly in relation to increasing unemployment. The trade union confederations have each presented a number of relevant proposals to the government since the crisis began, and have requested practical measures to protect jobs and combat dismissals, as well as provisions for further social protection for unemployed persons.
On 20 March 2009, UGT published its ‘Motion of urgency – Emergency measures for combating the crisis’ (Moção de urgência – Medidas de emergência de combate à crise (28Kb PDF)), approved at the eleventh congress of the trade union confederation. On 16 April 2009, CGTP published its document ‘CGTP proposes urgent measures to answer the escalation of the crisis’ (Face ao agravamento da crise a CGTP propõe medidas urgentes (94Kb PDF)). Both are strategic documents, highlighting the demands of each trade union confederation in respect of the current economic situation.
Main proposals of UGT
UGT emphasises that the measures proposed are of an urgent nature and should be implemented immediately during the period of economic crisis.
Improved social protection and employability
With regard to improving the social protection of unemployed people and fostering their employability, UGT makes the following demands:
- priority access for all unemployed persons to the educational and training programme New Opportunities (Programa de Novas Oportunidades). Those who complete a minimum total of 200 hours of evaluation and training will be granted a scholarship for training. The scholarship will be equivalent to the statutory minimum wage for unemployed people who do not receive unemployment benefits. All those on scholarships will have the right to be covered by the general regime of social security and be entitled to social protection;
- entitlement for all unemployed people with an academic degree to a paid internship in the first three years that they are unemployed. These persons must have the right and the obligation to be registered in the general regime of social security – providing contributions alongside their employers – in order to be entitled to unemployment social benefit or unemployment benefit after the internship ends, as well as the general right to social protection;
- an increase of at least 300 staff (up to 50%) in the employment centres, to ensure a proportion of one adviser for every 500 jobseekers registered at the centre;
- bringing forward by two years the right to early retirement for all unemployed people who reach the end of their entitlement to unemployment benefit after they are 55 years old;
- more support for households where more than one member is unemployed, by increasing the unemployment benefit and strengthening the support for children, students and elderly people.
Job protection
In relation to protecting jobs, UGT demands the following:
- amendment of the law on collective redundancy, in order to require prior administrative authorisation. The authorisation must be dependent on proof of the economic failure of the company without recourse to redundancies, and employers must have already tried alternative cost-cutting measures, including temporary lay-offs or working time flexibility;
- prohibition of staff reductions in all companies – including in the banking sector – that are supported by the state through measures aiming to combat the economic crisis;
- promotion of collective bargaining in companies and sectors, in order to reach agreements aiming to maintain jobs and avoid job cuts;
- strengthening of measures to support training during temporary lay-offs to ensure no reduction in wages, provided that training is given by a certified entity and according to a training plan drafted with the participation of workers;
- prohibition of the use by the central, regional or local government of staff mobility mechanisms to reduce employment;
- tighter control of the capacity to accumulate wages and pensions in the public sector and in semi-state companies for all workers with retirement pensions amounting to more than twice the minimum wage;
- creation of jobs in public administration where they are needed, bypassing any recruitment embargo due to limited resources;
- immediate discussion of legislation on companies’ social security contributions. Contributions on fixed-term employment contracts should increase by 3%, while contributions for permanent workers should decrease by 1%. The rate for workers providing services should be 5%. Discussion is also needed regarding the Code of Labour Procedure in order to implement the Agreement for a new system of regulation of industrial relations, employment policy and social protection in Portugal (PT0807019I, PT0809019I);
- prohibition of the distribution of profits to shareholders and managers in companies that are supported by state measures to combat the economic crisis or that are engaged in collective redundancies.
Main proposals of CGTP
The CGTP document presents an extensive analysis of the current economic and social situation, and the views of the trade union confederation on a large range of policy issues concerning the present crisis in order to promote economic and social development. The document also recommends urgent measures in a large number of areas beyond employment or labour relations and conditions. Due to the extensive list of proposals, the recommendations dealing more directly with employment and job security, unemployment protection and workers’ rights are outlined below.
Employment and job security
Regarding employment and job security, CGTP calls for the following measures:
- state support for manufacturing activities, in particular for micro and small companies. Such support should be dependent on companies’ compliance with certain obligations:
- not to promote redundancies
- to follow labour rules and obligations in relation to tax and social security
- to engage in information and consultation procedures with worker representatives and promote negotiated solutions
- not to distribute profits to shareholders or those in top management positions
- to limit employment contracts of a temporary nature, including fixed-term and temporary agency contracts;
- trade union participation in the implementation of the Qualification Employment Programme (ProgramaQualificação-Emprego), taking into account that all of the anticipated measures, such as reducing working time or temporary lay-offs, should only be used as a last resort to avoid redundancies;
- preventive management programmes to avert redundancies, which should be negotiated with worker representatives and should include training and employment initiatives;
- measures to facilitate the transfer of employees to other enterprises in the same group or to other establishments of the same company, based in the same county or region, or elsewhere, provided that the employees agree;
- companies’ compliance with their obligations in respect of continuous vocational training, promoting a more effective intervention of the labour inspectorate to ensure the right to vocational training;
- penalties for companies that do not seek alternatives to collective redundancies, and a revision of the law on collective redundancies in order to ensure an effective curtailment of this type of dismissal;
- sanctions for companies that relocate, requiring that they pay compensation to the Portuguese state and that they return all funds received while setting up operations.
Unemployment protection
In terms of unemployment protection, CGTP proposes the following:
- greater access to unemployment benefit and unemployment social benefit. Currently, only unemployed people who have worked for 450 days during the two years preceding unemployment are entitled to receive unemployment benefit. This requirement should be reduced to 365 days. Furthermore, at present, only those who have worked for 180 days during the 12 months preceding unemployment are entitled to unemployment social benefit. This threshold should be reduced to 90 days (PT0701029I);
- an extended duration of the unemployment social benefit during the period of economic recession (PT0906029I), so that long-term unemployed people can be protected when they are no longer entitled to receive this benefit;
- an increase in real wages and pensions, and in the statutory minimum wage, which should reach €500 in 2011 – as set out in a 2006 tripartite agreement – and €600 in 2013 (PT0612029I, PT0811039I).
Workers’ rights
CGTP also calls for new measures to guarantee the rights of workers, in particular the following:
- greater vigilance in order to ensure that employers only use short-term employment contracts to fill temporary needs, in the public and private sectors;
- stricter monitoring of effective compliance with the labour laws, which requires improving inspection capacity, by hiring 550 more labour inspectors and 60 more occupational health and safety experts;
- reinforcement of the constitutional right to collective bargaining, which is threatened by the rules on the expiry of collective agreements stipulated in the revised Labour Code (PT0811019I);
- protection of the right to collective bargaining in public administration in order to promote job security and prevent arbitrariness in relation to careers and mobility (PT0806029I, PT0809039I).
Maria da Paz Campos Lima, Dinâmia