Lisbon, Nov. 27, 2025 (Lusa) - The Portuguese minister of labour has said that she is convinced that the general strike will go ahead, but described the stoppage as "inopportune", stressing that it should be a last resort, as it is "harmful".
The CGTP and UGT trade unions have decided to call a general strike for 11 December in response to the government's draft labour reform bill.
"The government always hopes that the UGT will back down, but it also understands or has confirmed that there is little room for the UGT to back down. Therefore, it will certainly happen. I am convinced, unfortunately, because it is a strike that we consider untimely," said the minister of labour, solidarity and social security, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, in an interview with state broadcaster RTP on Wednesday evening.
The Minister of Labour stressed that the UGT has been a partner that has "negotiated extensively" with the Government on the draft bill in question and added that the negotiating environment is cordial, despite the CGTP "never signing anything".
Asked whether the Government might make concessions, the minister said she did not think there would be enough time for that, noting that the UGT itself had already made it clear that the decision had been taken.
Nevertheless, she said that the draft labour reform bill had been presented and drawn up in "good faith".
Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho also considered that strikes should be a last resort and classified this mechanism as "harmful", warning of the social impact of the stoppage, particularly in sectors such as health and transport.
As for the economic impact of this general strike, the minister declined to give figures and pointed out that "calling a strike is one thing, but participation is another".
With regard to youth unemployment in particular, the minister argued that the rate is "extremely high" and pointed out that the changes planned for fixed-term contracts were also designed with young people in mind.
According to current legislation, a young worker with a permanent contract, which is "theoretically more stable", can have their contract terminated without compensation after five months and 29 days, the minister explained, clarifying that this "is a more precarious solution than a fixed-term contract".
The Government's proposal provides that these contracts will now have a minimum duration of one year and may be renewed up to three times.
Another issue on the table was the hour bank (a system of flexible working hours, allowing compensation for hours worked outside the contracted working hours), which Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho said was an important and advantageous solution for companies and workers.
"Many workers consider it beneficial because they can say: I can't go to work today, I have to take my son to the doctor or I have to take my mother to the doctor, and the employer gets that credit," she explained.
The leader of the UGT, Mário Mourão, considered Wednesday's meeting in São Bento with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro and the minister of labour to be "very constructive", but "the strike will continue".
Both the UGT and the government showed willingness to "continue working to find common ground to see whether or not there is room for an agreement," said Mário Mourão at the end of the meeting, which lasted over an hour.
After the announcement of the general strike, the Ministry of Labour presented the UGT with a new proposal, with some changes to the draft presented in July, but the trade union said it was "too little" to call off the strike.
In the document, the government concedes on issues such as simplifying dismissals in medium-sized companies and reducing the number of compulsory training hours in micro-enterprises, opening the door to the reinstatement of the three days of holiday linked to attendance abolished by the troika, among other things. but maintains some measures that have been very criticised by the trade unions, such as the return of the individual hour bank and the repeal of the rule that provides for restrictions on outsourcing in the event of dismissal.
The “troika” in Portugal referred to the tripartite institution (European Commission, European Central Bank and International Monetary Fund) that imposed a financial rescue and austerity programme on the country from April 2011 onwards, following the sovereign debt crisis. Portugal received a loan of around €76.4 billion in exchange for complying with a rigorous financial adjustment plan, which lasted until May 2014.
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