Rosário Palma Ramalho, Minister of Labor, said this Tuesday, March 3, that the Government and social partners are “closer to the end than the beginning” in the discussion of changes to the labor law, even though he refused to set a deadline for the negotiations to end.
“The Government’s desire is that the agreement [em sede Concertação Social] be achieved”, stated the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, after meeting with all social partners in a plenary meeting of the Permanent Commission for Social Coordination, adding that the executive “has invested a lot in this agreement”.
Rosário Palma Ramalho said it was still too early to know the final outcome, but said he was “confident” in a possible agreement at this headquarters.
“The Government has carried out a great process of approximation of positions and the partners are also carrying out this same process”, the negotiations of which have been going on “for seven months”, he stressed, declining, however, to detail the specific measures and advances.
According to the government official, “it is around the table” that “solutions” to divergences will be found.
The minister has reiterated that she will not “eternalize” the discussion in the Social Concertation, signaling that it is the Government’s intention to submit the proposed law to parliament even if there is no agreement with the social partners.
Asked whether there is a deadline to consider the negotiations at this headquarters as finished, Palma Ramalho reiterated that “the Government’s desire” to reach an agreement “is very great”, but admitted that everyone has to “get halfway” for this to happen.
“As I said, we are closer to the end than the beginning, but I don’t set any deadline”, he added.
Bosses point to “the next two weeks” as the deadline to find out if there is an agreement
In turn, the bosses pointed to the “next two weeks” as the deadline to conclude, with or without an agreement, the negotiations on the labor law, while UGT said that “there is still a lot to be done” and that “it’s as long as it takes”.
“I would say that the partners are in agreement (..) that if this process is not completed in the next two weeks, it may not be worth extending it any further because we will enter a vicious cycle”, said Armindo Monteiro, president of the CIP, upon leaving the plenary meeting of the Permanent Commission for Social Coordination.
According to Armindo Monteiro, this is “the right time”, given that negotiations on labor legislation have been discussed between the Government and social partners “for seven months”.
The position was shared by the president of the CTP, Francisco Calheiros, who said he believes that they are “in the final phase” given that the Government has already signaled that it will not perpetuate the discussion in the Social Concertation, so that “at the latest this week or next there will be white smoke, whether there is an agreement or there is no agreement”.
The president of the CCP said he believes that “within a few weeks” it will be possible to reach a conclusion as to whether “an agreement is possible or not”.
The Minister of Labor also said, at the end of the meeting, that the Government and social partners are “closer to the end than the beginning” in the discussion of changes to the labor law, even though she refused to set a deadline for the negotiations to be concluded.
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