More than 28,000 workers, covered by 42 expiring collective regulatory instruments, are on the verge of losing a range of employment benefits not provided for by the labor law, such as more vacation days (25 instead of 22, for example), a starting salary higher than the national minimum wage ( 760 euros) or a weekly working day lower than that set for the private sector, namely 40 hours.
This series of benefits is numbered for those workers because on March 9 the two-year suspension of collective agreements ended and the stricter rules that trade unions can resort to have not yet come into force, which were passed by parliament in February adopted under the umbrella of the Decent Work Agenda. The diploma was sent to Belém on the 10th, the day after the moratorium ended. And the President of the Republic has not yet spoken. Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa has 20 days from that date to approve or veto amendments to the Labor Code and eight days to request the Constitutional Court to carry out a preventive inspection of constitutionality.
The two-year suspension of collective bargaining agreements ended on 9 this month, but the new, tightened rules are not yet in effect.
For example, since 9 March, the counting of deadlines for complaints submitted to the Directorate-General for Employment and Labor Relations (DGERT) has resumed. The Secretary of State for Labor, Miguel Fontes, revealed to Dinheiro Vivo that “between 2018 and up to March 15, 12 collective bargaining complaints have been filed, affecting 10,047 workers” and that “there are 30 requests for publication of the expiration notice, covering 18,000 employees”. In other words, there are a total of 42 collective regulatory instruments expiring, with the 30 notices already in the final stages of the process, which should enter into force shortly. A total of 18,047 employees will be affected, and soon the 18,000 who refer to the notices. Regarding these cases, an official source from the Ministry of Labor indicated that “DGERT is analyzing all situations”.
It was not possible to find out which sectors of activity are covered by these 42 agreements and whether negotiations are being conducted at the same time with a view to signing new collective agreements. The DV questioned custody, but received no response.
The PS also tried to avoid the gap between the end of the suspension of the expiry date and the new rules by including in the diploma that the entry into force of these measures will be the day after their publication in Diário da República and not on the first day of the following month. . The aim was to stop a race to the complaints and, on the other hand, to guarantee that the suspended processes would be subject to more scrutiny. But the diploma is still withheld in Belém.
The new rules oblige the complaint, usually filed by the employer, to be substantiated and allow employees or unions to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for the arguments put forward by the companies within ten days of the complaint. This request suspends the time limits and if the court finds no grounds, the complaint becomes invalid. The new rules also provide for an arbitration process that can be requested by any party already in a final stage of the process. But the court’s decision is binding.
The new law is only effective for the future. In other words, the processes currently underway will not be able to benefit from the new arbitration tools, confirmed to the DV the lawyer specialized in labor law, Madalena Caldeira, a partner hired by the firm Abreu Advogados.
Two million covered by collective bargaining
Regarding the evolution of collective bargaining, the ministry, under the supervision of Ana Mendes Godinho, revealed to DV that “there are about two million workers covered by collective bargaining entered into less than three years ago, which amounts to 855 collective bargaining agreements”. “The biggest boost to this universe was the 315 collective regulatory instruments signed in 2022, representing 856 thousand employees, representing a growth of 35% compared to 2021 and 75% compared to 2020,” he added.
The expiration of collective bargaining agreements was introduced into the Labor Act in 2003. The standard remains in line with the letter of the law and prescribes that if after three years the terminated contract is not replaced by another instrument, the applicable agreement loses its validity.
Salomé Pinto is a journalist for Dinheiro Vivo
Source: DN
