Montenegro wants to move the strike to avoid total transport stops. It can be impossible

Montenegro gave as an example the recent total stoppage in the Lisbon Metro on the eve of St. Anthony to justify the stir of the strike law. However, the stop in question was due to a plenary of workers, not a strike.

The government expressed its intention to change the strike law with the objective of ensuring existence of minimum services In all situations, especially in critical sectors such as transport.

The proposal was confirmed by Luís Montenegro during the presentation of the government program in Parliament, after a total stoppage on the Lisbon meter on the eve of the Santo António holiday, which caused strong embarrassment to the population.

The Prime Minister classified what happened as an imbalance in the exercise of rights and defended the need for political power to assume responsibilities and measures to prevent stops that affect the remaining population.

However, experts in labor and constitutional law heard by stressing that, even with changes to the law, situations such as the stoppage of the meter may be repeated, as the closure resulted from a plenary of workers and not a formal strike – a circumstance that escapes the application of minimum services.

Rita Garcia Pereira, law lawyer, points out that the government’s intention can go through a REVIEW OF THE OPERATION OF THE ARBITRAL COLLEGEthe agency that currently decides, on a case by case basis, the imposition of minimum services. The proposal may imply that, in essential sectors such as transport and health, the minimum services are previously defined by law, and the college should only determine which workers assure them at each moment.

Constitutionalists such as Tiago Duarte and Jorge Pereira da Silva recognize that There is margin for changes within the limits of Article 57 of the Constitution. Tiago Duarte stresses that the Constitution “does not say that there has to be arbitration court deciding minimal services” and this is “only one of the solutions that the current law has consecrated, and that it can be revised.”

Jorge Pereira da Silva considers that the debate around the minimum guaranteed services “makes sense”, but warns that any attempt to empty the right to strike, such as obliging normal functioning during a stoppage, would be unconstitutional. More restrictive measures, such as prevent strikes at certain heightsmay be legally sustainable, depending on the final content of the proposal.

The union centrals reacted firmly. UGT classified the measure as a “red lineAnd CGTP accused the government of wanting to “protect companies and harm workers.”