José Sena Goulão / Lusa
Former Minister of Labor, Vieira da Silva
The Government’s labor reform “will bring greater weight to fixed-term contracts”, argued former Labor Minister José António Vieira da Silva.
The former minister and former Socialist deputy said that the previous reduction in fixed-term contracts, from three to two years, and the extension of the trial period, from 90 to 180 days, was the factor that made it possible to reduce the “historically high” weight of this type of contractual relationship in the labor market in Portugal.
“O weight of term contracts always varied between 17 and 19%” but, after the introduction of the legislative changes still in force, “it was reduced to 12,7%”, said Vieira Silva at the end of the conference on labor law reform, organized by the newspaper Eco.
“This reduction happened for two reasons: more demanding laws and a good economy”, he considered, adding that because of this It is not clear why the Government now intends to go back, by extending the duration of fixed-term contracts and reducing the trial period.
The former PS Labor Minister presented several figures to attest to the “growth” and “robustness” of the job market, namely the increase of 331 thousand jobs in the last decade in Portugal, “essentially employed”.
Os fixed-term contractsas he said, decreased by 165 thousand in the same period.
A “low conflict” between employers and workers was also mentioned by the former ruler, who classified Portugal as one of the countries in Europe “with fewer strikes” and a greater degree of collective contracting.
Taking stock of the current labor model, Vieira da Silva highlighted the existence of “elements of rigidity”, especially in the prohibition of individual dismissals, but this rigidity “is more formal than practical”.
“There is a effective flexibility which goes beyond the legal dimension”, he pointed out.
Noting the existence of “extreme positions” between social partners, In view of the Government’s draft labor reform, Vieira da Silva warned of future challenges that, in his opinion, will condition the labor market, such as the digital transition and the energy transition.
“The innovations brought by Artificial intelligence will reduce the need for workforce. I doubt that conditions will be created to absorb the surpluses. We have to be prepared and think about how we are going to distribute the work among everyone”, he concluded.
