The Economy Minister said this Tuesday, March 10, that if there is still no agreement on labor legislation “it is not due to a lack of will on the part of the Government”, which “intensely wants” a consensus.
Manuel Castro Almeida signaled that “if there is no agreement it is not due to the Government’s lack of will, because the Government intensely wanted to make the agreement and intensely wants the agreement”, on the sidelines of Forum Banca 2026, organized by Jornal Económico, in Lisbon.
Asked whether the law will move forward even without an agreement in the Social Concertation, the Minister of Economy and Territorial Cohesion simply replied: “We’ll see.”
The president of the CIP, Armindo Monteiro, said this Monday, in statements to RTP Notícias, that negotiations on the labor package ended without an agreement and held UGT responsible for the lack of understanding.
The Confederation of Commerce and Services of Portugal (CCP) also said, this Monday, that negotiations are not expected to continue on the proposed labor legislation, after it was not possible to reach an agreement, and it is now up to the Government to take a position.
“It is not foreseen. The Government will now define a position: whether to take the legislation to the Assembly of the Republic and in what format, whether the initial or whether some contributions will be incorporated. It remains at that point”, stated the president of the CCP, João Vieira Lopes, in statements to Lusa.
The draft reform project, called “Work XXI”, was presented by the Government of Luís Montenegro (PSD and CDS-PP) on July 24, 2025 and the Minister of Labor has already signaled her intention to submit the bill in parliament, although she does not commit to a date.
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