The Prime Minister returns to Parliament this Wednesday for a fortnightly debate in which the opposition is expected to discuss issues such as the review of labor laws, the current international situation and inflation, and the Government’s relationship with journalists.
The first intervention in the fortnightly debate will be made by the Liberal Initiative, a party that has been pressuring Luís Montenegro to take to parliament the reform of labor legislationwith a view to its flexibility, and accuses the PSD/CDS executive of privileging “propaganda” in its action, although without criticizing the contract signed by the Government with the company NewsWhip in the area of communication.
A contract that the PS wants to be made public and sent to the Assembly of the Republic and which it suspects could serve for the Government “monitors” the activity of journalists.
In addition to this issue related to press freedom, the socialists have held PSD, CDS, Chega and the Liberal Initiative responsible for the progressive increase in the cost of living by failing their initiatives that “aimed at adopting mitigation measures in relation to the effects of inflation”.
On Sunday, in Maia, where he took stock of two years of government, the prime minister contradicted this PS thesis and countered that the .
“The Portugal of 2026 is not the same as it was in 2024. Two years ago we came from eight years of constant disinvestment in public services and a budgetary strategy where results were achieved, above all, due to more taxes and greater restraint in public investment. Today, we have taxes, I won’t say minimum, but at a minimum compared to what they were and maximum services compared to what we had in 2024”, maintained Luís Montenegro.
PM says that review of labor legislation is in the final stretch between social partners
In terms of reviewing labor laws, a new social consultation meeting is scheduled for Thursday. But the Prime Minister has already signaled that this process is in its final stages between the social partners.
On Thursday, he left a warning: “It is not worth expecting this process to be prolonged for a long time. What we can expect – and this is what I also hope – is that in the coming days positions can be refined and the appropriate decisions can be taken”, he stated.
In an indirect reference to the fact that the UGT continues to refuse the current version of the government document, the prime minister said that the negotiation process with the social partners is still ongoing.
“But we will finish soon and the Government will make a final decision on the proposal to send to parliament. Afterwards, parliament will decide and the President of the Republic [António José Seguro] will have its intervention in the legislative procedure later on”, he said.
The President of the Republic, in turn, last Friday, announced that “very soon” he will meet with the social partners and assured that he has been following the evolution of the entire process regarding labor law.
Ventura’s “red lines”; Livre, BE and PCP in opposition to the Government
Still on the changes to the labor code, as well as the Liberal Initiative, the president of Chega, André Ventura, also wants the government to take its proposal to parliament, having placed five conditions to make it viable.
Like “red lines”, demands that the Government’s proposal “does not harm working mothers, does not encourage discretionary dismissals, reviews maternity leave and remuneration for shift work, and ensures labor legislation that is “flexible, but not (…) savage”.
Speaking to the Lusa agency, on Sunday, the general secretary of the PCP, Paulo Raimundo, promised to confront the prime minister, in parliament, with the issue of the “anti-labor package”.
On Wednesday, in parliament, according to the secretary general of the PCP, “this contradiction will have to be exposed” in the debate.
