TIAGO PETINGA/LUSA
The deputy and president of Chega, André Ventura (C), smiles during the parliamentary debate in the Assembly of the Republic.
Proposal largely failed in Parliament. Ventura “did not give in on essential issues, from ‘outsourcing’ (and dismissal) to retirement age.”
The Government’s proposal to review labor legislation was rejected this Friday, in general, with the votes against Chega and the parliamentary left, after André Ventura’s party failed to reach an agreement with the PSD.
The text only included votes in favor of the parties that support the Government (PSD-CDS-PP) and IL. PS, Livre, PCP, BE, PAN and JPP joined in voting against.
After the lead, there were long minutes of applause in Parliament for the implementation of amendments to the Labor Law. He came from all the benches on the left, as well as those present in the hemicycle’s galleries, including the general secretary of the CGTP, Tiago Oliveira, who was visibly moved. After the applause, the president of parliament, José Pedro Aguiar-Branco, warned the deputies that this type of situation “is not regimentally acceptable” and regretted what happened, as the galleries were not allowed to speak out.
Until the last: Ventura “didn’t give in”
The result of the vote remained open until the last moment, with negotiations between PSDB and Chega. The bench led by Pedro Pinto even asked for work to be suspended for half an hour before voting began.
The leader of Chega had announced that he would vote against the Government’s proposal in general if it remained as it was, and presented some demands. Before the vote, he met twice with the prime minister and leader of the PSD, Luís Montenegro, in São Bento.
André Ventura placed particular emphasis on lowering the retirement age – even demanding a written commitment from the Government -, in addition to restoring vacation days, protecting the rights of breastfeeding mothers, leave for grandparents to take care of their grandchildren, or valuing shift workers.
After several days of negotiations with the government, the leader of Chega sent a message to deputies stating that, until that time, “a positive outcome in the negotiations” had not yet been possible, said the . André Ventura reportedly explained that “he did not give in on essential matters, from ‘outsourcing’ (and dismissal) to retirement age”.
The controversial diploma, which has been under discussion at the top of the national political agenda for months, Now head to the Belém Palacewhere the President of the Republic, António José Seguro will have to decide whether to promulgate, send the proposal to the Constitutional Court or return the diploma to Parliament.
This Wednesday, during the fortnightly debate, the Prime Minister expressed the Government’s willingness to enrich the proposal, but pointed out that “this approach” would only be possible if the initiative was made viable in general, when questioned by the president of Chega. However, in response to the leader of the Liberal Initiative (IL), Montenegro signaled that it does not support a lowering of the retirement age, as demanded by Chega.
In the parliamentary debate on Thursday on the Government’s proposal, Ventura even stated that his party would “achieve workers the biggest victory in recent decades”.
