Lisbon, Oct. 9, 2024 (Lusa) - Low salaries and poor working conditions continue to drive young architects to emigrate and reveal a "devaluation of the profession," which the Association of Architects blames on state inaction and is considering "tougher measures."
After a year of activity by the new board of the Architects' Association (OA), the president, Avelino Oliveira, says he is "satisfied" with the dynamics of the professional association during this period but "dissatisfied" that it has not achieved its main objectives with government decision-makers.
"The profession in Portugal is paid a fifth or a sixth of what it is paid in other European countries," he lamented in an interview with Lusa news agency about the first year of the project with the slogan “Now, Future”, which won the OA elections for a mandate until 2026.
According to recent figures, 28,000 architects are currently registered with the organisation—22,000 are active—and around 800 new members join every year.
"Around half of the registered architects are under 40," emphasised Avelino Ferreira about the profile of these professionals who, "at the start of their careers, earn around €1000".
"Among the most qualified professions, which require teaching with differentiating characteristics and responsibility, in other words, which require a master's degree and another year of internship, we are the worst paid profession," lamented the president of the OA, pointing out that, in addition to low salaries, many architects accumulate various functions, a “very demotivating” reality.
Avelino Oliveira pointed out that this "devaluation of the profession continues to push young architects to emigrate, because they don't feel recognised, nor do they have the conditions to be autonomous and improve their lives", making them "among the professionals who emigrate the most".
He cited data from the REMIGR Project - which seeks to understand the size and characteristics of new Portuguese emigration movements - from the Emigration Observatory and the Manuel Francisco dos Santos Foundation on emigration in Portugal between 2001 and 2020.
Studies show that, during this twenty-year period, 5.64% of the emigrants born between 1970 and 1980 were architects and designers.
"It is estimated that 75,000 Portuguese emigrated during this period, so by our reckoning, there are at least 2,500 architects, around 10% of the active members of the OA," Avelino Oliveira told Lusa.
The president emphasised that this current scenario, which places young architects "among the five professions that emigrate the most in Portugal, alongside health professionals such as doctors, nurses and physiotherapists", is seen as "very worrying".
Hence the frustration and dissatisfaction at the end of the new board's year in office, after several contacts and ministerial meetings: "We haven't achieved our main objectives with government decision-makers, relating to the valorisation of the profession and better working conditions for architects."
"We're going to harden our positions if things continue like this regarding fees and the devaluation of architecture. We're going to take stronger measures," he said, without wanting to say which ones.
For Avelino Oliveira, the current situation results from twenty years of inaction by decision-makers in various governments, public bodies, regulators, legislators, labour and competition authorities.
"This emigration is worrying. It means that there is little talent retention in the country, and young architects who emigrate aren't returning because the situation hasn't changed," emphasised the Porto School graduate, currently teaching at the University of Lisbon's Higher Institute of Social and Political Sciences.
In the meantime, the OA created a project called Remuneração Justa: "We spoke to the parties, the parliamentary groups, the ministries that oversee us, we had several meetings, institutions that regulate the market, the Competition Authority, and we presented data. Everyone showed understanding and good words, but we didn't achieve anything concrete."
Another piece of information that has come to light this year and which the Portuguese Architects' Association finds worrying is related to the public commissioning fees paid in Portugal: “On average, what the state commissions from architects and engineers is worth only 1.99% of the total value of the contract”.
"That's less than 2%. This is almost treating us as if we were the "2 Euro Shop", particularly concerning us. It's a figure that may not mean anything to the general public, but it indicates that the state itself is promoting unfair competition and devaluing architects. We analysed more than 100 public tenders representing almost €400 million worth of work," said the architect, who has a studio in Matosinhos.
Throughout its first year in office, the new board also says it has travelled the country to learn about the reality of architects' careers in public administration and the private sector, holding meetings and debates.
"We came across numerous very complex issues that need to be changed because colleagues are working in conditions and doing accumulated services. He told Lusa that they do projects and are responsible for building work and supervision, among other matters.
For the president of the OA, "the level of careers is very low, and architects have an increased responsibility, and the functions they perform go far beyond mere general careers".
The scenario is unsatisfactory, but - says Avelino Oliveira - "architects have little inclination to complain: they complain a lot among their colleagues in a low voice, but they don't speak up".
Against this backdrop, the OA has created a platform to propose a legislative change it wants to formalise by the next architects' congress, scheduled for May 2025 in Évora, Alentejo.
"We're going to present a comprehensive proposal to the government on the remuneration of public careers and how they work. We're starting to see problems in some territories in Portugal, which don't have architects either for projects or for urban management," he warned.
Avelino Oliveira says that "the profession in public administration is not attractive given the current conditions, and what is already a serious problem with engineers is starting to happen in architecture".
"There is already a shortage of engineers in public organisations and public administration. In architecture, the same thing is starting to happen in certain territories," he pointed out, recalling that the construction sector accounts for 16% of GDP.
Asked about the state of play regarding the changes to the statute of professional organisations, approved in parliament a year ago in a climate of protest - in the case of the OA because "architects" own and exclusive acts are being called into question" - Avelino Oliveira said there had been no news since then.
"This government promised that it would reopen the process, but it hasn't," he said, adding that architects are waiting for the reopening “not conformed, but somewhat disciplined”.
The new statute "creates organisational difficulties, some of them complicated for various professionals, and it really needs to be revised", he said, indicating that the OA expects the government to reopen the process by the end of the year.
AG/ADB // ADB.
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