The projects were rejected with votes against by PSD and CDS-PP and abstentions by Chega, PS and IL. Currently, donors can only leave for as long as necessary for the donation, but are not entitled to the entire day.
This Friday, Parliament rejected the possibility of blood donors having justified absence from work on the day they make the donation, proposed by the PCP, Bloco de Esquerda and PAN and rejected by the parties that support the Government.
The bills from the Bloco de Esquerda and the PAN, which proposed changing the Blood Donor Statute and the Labor Code to enshrine this right, and the PCP bill, which only changed the statute, were failed with the PSD and CDS-PP voting against and Chega, PS and IL abstaining.
Currently, the Blood Donor Statute allows workers to leave the workplace for as long as necessary to donate, without any loss of rights or benefits, but does not allow them to take the day off.
During the debate on the initiatives, on Thursday, the sole deputy of the Left Bloc, Fabian Figueiredo, defended the need for the amendment, highlighting the drop in the number of donors over the last few years.
Pclass Santos, from PCP, and Inês Sousa Real, from PAN, argued that it is not enough to appeal for donations without creating conditions to facilitate adherence to blood donation campaigns.
On the right, Liliana Fidalgo, from the PSD, considered the current legislation adequate and defended, on the other hand, the need to improve the dissemination of rights that already exist, reinforce awareness among employers, simplify procedures and reinforce the operational capacity of the Portuguese Blood and Transplantation Institute.
On the same topic, draft resolutions from Chega, Livre and Bloco de Esquerda were also voted on, which were also rejected, having been approved, with only the PSD and CDS-PP abstaining, a PS initiative that recommends the structured promotion of voluntary and regular blood donation.
