Portugal moves labour reform to social dialogue
Portugal’s government has moved its labour law reform to the formal social dialogue stage, with a Thursday meeting set to try to close talks after more than eight months.
Portugal’s government will take its labour law reform to the Permanent Commission for Social Dialogue on Thursday, according to ECO, moving a long-running negotiation on hiring, dismissal and strike rules into the formal stage.
Labour Minister Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho said the talks were in their final stretch after a Monday meeting with the four business confederations and the UGT union. She said the negotiations would not continue indefinitely and that the process would now move forward in one way or another.
The minister said employers had commented on UGT’s latest proposals and that the union had submitted a written version of two proposals to the government. She also said social partners already had the latest written version of the draft, after UGT had argued it needed concrete written proposals before taking them to its internal bodies.
The reform matters for companies and investors because it could change labour flexibility and industrial relations in Portugal. Thursday’s meeting will show whether the government can still secure a negotiated outcome or will have to move ahead without broad union support.