This Wednesday, BE asked the PS to withdraw the “unacceptable” proposal, presented in the context of the Decent Work Agenda, which allows employees to waive wage credits at the end of the employment contract, contrary to what was foreseen.
“We hope that the PS does not go through with this change and that it does not want to go back on what has already been approved and decided. It is a pity if it does and our expectation is that this will not happen”said BE deputy José Soeiro to journalists in Passos Perdidos of the Assembly of the Republic.
According to Soeiro, the PS proposal presented orally this Wednesday in the working group on labor law changes under the Decent Work Agenda is a response to a letter addressed to businessmen sent by the president of CIP – Confederação Empresarial de Portugal, António Saraiva, announced on Friday, was “deeply outraged” by the BE standards approved in parliament.
Among them, a standard that ends the possibility of employees waiving their rights at the end of the contract and that was “humiliating and absurd, which harms workers and which had already been voted to terminate”said the blogger.
“We should not reopen this process, nor should the PS withdraw under pressure from the CIP, this is unacceptable”reinforced Jose Soeiro.
The PS presented this Wednesday a proposal to amend the labor law that would allow workers to waive wage credits owed to them upon termination of employment, as long as certain requirements are met, an initiative that “empties” the PS’s proposal. BE approved in January, Soeiro said.
During the meeting of the working group, BE deputy José Soeiro contested the proposal, defending that the socialist initiative “presented by surprise” is “very serious because it results in a withdrawal and a total change of the PS in this matter” and that it responds to “a yielding to the bosses’ blackmail”.
On Jan. 3, delegates approved a specialty BE proposal that ended the ability for workers to waive credits owed to them, such as holiday or Christmas grants, when they are laid off or their contract expires.
BE’s proposal was approved with the favorable votes of the proponent, the PS and the PCP.
Under the BE proposal, approved in January, employee assets “are not subject to extinction by abdicative forgiveness.”
The proposal presented by the PS on Wednesday maintains the rule introduced by the BE, but adds a new point that in turn responds to what the PSD defends.
Whenever the employee is provided with detailed information and the respective grounds for all claims in writing, the employee may expressly waive the claims referred to in paragraph 1 in agreement with the employer, provided that the signatures are subject to notarization face -to-face or in legal proceedings”.
This is Article 337 of the Labor Code, which provides for this “an employer’s or employee’s credit arising from an employment contract, its breach or its termination expires one year from the day following the day on which the employment contract was terminated”.
Despite the fact that the law stipulates that the credits due to the employee become time-barred one year after the termination of the contract, allowing the employee to claim them during that period, it has become customary for employees to sign a waiver of wages credits at the time leaving the company.
The next working group meeting is scheduled for Thursday, where the PS proposal must be voted on.
Source: DN
