Lisbon, March 24, 2026 (Lusa) - The president of the Confederation of Portuguese Business (CIP) said on Tuesday he hoped to "quickly conclude" the negotiation process on draft labour law changes and considered the country "a bit tired of this negotiation".
"We hope to quickly conclude this process, because we believe that Portugal is a bit tired of this negotiation," CIP president Armindo Monteiro said as he entered a meeting between the government, the General Workers' Union (UGT) and the four business confederations, taking place on Tuesday at the Ministry of Labour in Lisbon on draft labour law changes.
Monteiro added that he hoped to conclude "this process today" and indicated that as soon as the negotiations ended, the confederation would propose an income "plan" to increase wages and grow the economy.
"The prime minister proposed a minimum wage increase relatively recently and apparently no one paid attention to that goal, but we want to say that we do care and want to contribute to making it possible," he concluded.
On 6 December, Prime Minister and Social Democratic Party (PSD) leader Luís Montenegro increased the country’s wage targets, mentioning a €1,600 minimum wage and a €3,000 average wage, a day after mentioning lower figures.
The government has held several technical meetings with the four employers' confederations (CIP, CCP, CTP and CAP) and the UGT to negotiate more than 100 changes to the draft labour law. The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), which also has a seat in this forum and presented a counter-proposal in a bilateral meeting on 3 September, has not been invited to the meetings. The executive said the union had sidelined itself from the start by asking for the proposal to be withdrawn from discussion.
Since the draft reform, entitled "Work XXI", was presented by the government on 24 July 2025, more than 50 meetings (plenary, trilateral and bilateral) have been held. Consensus has been reached on more than 76 articles, 24 of which were proposed by the UGT, a source linked to the process told Lusa.
Restrictions on outsourcing, the return of individual time off in lieu deals, the duration of contracts and reinstatement in the event of unfair dismissal, identified as "red line" measures for the UGT, are some of the changes that remain at the centre of the discussion to reach an eventual consensus.
The final decision on any agreement must always pass through a plenary meeting between the government, unions and employers, while the UGT secretary-general has stressed that the ratification of any union decision must be taken to the national secretariat.
After meeting with union presidents and secretaries-general on Friday, the UGT decided to schedule a national secretariat for 9 April, a union source confirmed to Lusa.
Even if there is no agreement between the government, unions and employers, the labour minister said the government would "take advantage of the contributions" from these partners and civil society that the executive considers relevant in the draft bill.
JMF/LYT // AYLS
Lusa
