Lisbon, Dec. 15, 2025 (Lusa) - The Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security stated on Sunday that the government rejects returning to "square one" in the reform of labour laws, showing openness to contributions from the UGT, with which it will meet on Tuesday.
In an interview with RTP Madeira, Rosário Ramalho also acknowledged the "economic" and “social” impacts of Thursday's general strike. However, she said that "the official figures" for worker participation in the strike "do not correspond in any way to the figures put forward by the trade unions".
"The government is obviously not willing to go back to square one because it presented this draft bill legitimised by the electoral programme, the government programme and even the tripartite agreement it signed last year with the Social Concertation, including with the UGT [General Workers' Union], which provided for us to review labour legislation," she said.
The minister responsible for the area argued that a series of very significant changes were at stake and that, therefore, it is technically impossible to start from scratch.
"Someone has to take the initiative. In this case, it was the government which presented it as a draft bill, and that is what is being debated, but with complete openness," she continued.
According to Rosário Ramalho, the draft bill is "a working basis and not a finished product," since "it could have been a bill right away," meaning it is a document for "building solutions, and the solutions are halfway there."
"We will have to bring the parties closer together, but it has to be on both sides. The government has presented several proposals on the first ones - this draft bill. The UGT, so far, has not yet presented any proposals, but has agreed to study ours," she said.
The member of the government led by Social Democrat Luís Montenegro stated that the government had "never" interrupted the negotiations and that it was the UGT, "by deciding to call a [general] strike," that "naturally" caused the suspension of the meetings.
"We actually have figures - and these figures are official - that do not correspond in any way to the figures put forward by the trade unions. But they also put forward [the figures for workers' participation in the general strike] very early in the morning," she explained.
For the Minister of Labour, the data "point to a [general] strike that had very little impact in the private sector, therefore, at the company level" and that "had more impact in the public sector".
"But regardless of the figures, a general strike obviously always has a major impact. Not only because the sectors where it actually had the most participation are sectors that cause damage and have a greater impact on the economy - for example, if schools close, there is not only the problem of the school, but also the problem of parents who have to look after their children," she said.
Rosário Ramalho acknowledged that "the economic impact is greater than the number of participants because it is a general strike" and that, "on the other hand, there is also a social impact", reiterating that "the Government has always considered this [general] strike inappropriate because negotiations are ongoing, but it has not failed to respect it".
On Thursday, a general strike took place, the first called in Portugal by the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers/Intersindical (CGTP/IN) and the UGT together in 12 years, affecting sectors such as transport, schools, hospitals and health centres, as well as private companies such as AutoEuropa.
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