Portugal - 2011

Background

Politics in Portugal in 2010 were dominated by the state of the economy with the government seeking to reduce the budget deficit from its 2009 high of 9.3% whilst stimulating growth and employment. Widespread strikes took place in May. On 24 November the country’s two largest trade union confederations, CGTP-IN and UGT-P, called a general strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike two days in advance of the parliamentary sitting at which an austerity budget was adopted for 2011. At the end of the year the prospect of an EU-led bailout still hung over the country.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Lisbon

reported violations- 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Trade union rights in law

Freedom of association freedom of association The right to form and join the trade union of one’s choosing as well as the right of unions to operate freely and carry out their activities without undue interference.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework is guaranteed in the Constitution and the 2009 Labour Code. There are no predetermined and precise criteria to evaluate the representativity of unions, but it is considered that only unions having a seat in the Permanent Commission for Social Partnership are representative. These unions are also referred to by name in law, which serves as an impediment to new trade unions. Although the right to collective bargaining collective bargaining The process of negotiating mutually acceptable terms and conditions of employment as well as regulating industrial relations between one or more workers’ representatives, trade unions, or trade union centres on the one hand and an employer, a group of employers or one or more employers’ organisations on the other.

See collective bargaining agreement
is secured, bargaining in the public service is defined as “appraisal and discussion”. Negotiations do not result in legally binding collective agreements, and can only concern pay and pay-related issues. Furthermore, where a situation is considered to be sufficiently grave, the government has the power to issue a ministerial order to bring a wide range of activities into temporary, obligatory public service, including pharmaceutical production and banking. Although not specifically regulated in law, political strikes are also prohibited.
Additional information regarding the legislation
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Lisbon

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

In practice

Anti-union climate: According to the trade union confederation UGT-P, labour and management relations at the company level are tainted by severe pressure on workers not to join a union, considerable interference in trade union activities, and fierce opposition to external trade union representatives.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Lisbon

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher

Violations

Excessive definition of minimum services: The UGT-P reports infringements relating to the general strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike on 24 November. When calling a strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike in Portugal minimum services to guarantee vital social needs have to be agreed in advance. The decision of the arbitration arbitration A means of resolving disputes outside the courts through the involvement of a neutral third party, which can either be a single arbitrator or an arbitration board. In non-binding arbitration, the disputing parties are free to reject the third party’s recommendation, whilst in binding arbitration they are bound by its decision. Compulsory arbitration denotes the process where arbitration is not voluntarily entered into by the parties, but is prescribed by law or decided by the authorities.

See conciliation, mediation court regarding the definition of minimum services to safeguard these needs was regarded as excessive in two cases: one relating to urban trains of Portuguese railways and the other to the SOFLUSA ferry company in Lisbon. In both cases the unions have appealed to the Court of Appeal.
Replacement of strikers: EDP (Electricity of Portugal) brought in external providers to carry out work during the November general strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike . RTP (the government TV channel) similarly replaced workers with externally hired staff. The UGT-P affiliate in the energy sector (SINDEL) immediately complained to the Authority for Working Conditions, whilst its affiliate in the audiovisual sector (SMAV) plans to do so too. Both complaints focus on the definition of minimum service minimum service The operations needed in a public or private establishment during a strike, normally to avoid compromising the life or basic needs of the population or causing irreversible damages.

See Guide to the ITUC international trade union rights framework .
Breach of neutrality in Guarda: UGT-P has reported the director of the Social Security District Centre in Guarda to the Secretary of State for Social Security and the President of the Board of the Social Security Institute for sending an internal e-mail thanking all those workers who did not join the general strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike on 24 November. The union believes the director breached rules of impartiality as their action implicitly reproached all those workers who used their legal right to strike strike The most common form of industrial action, a strike is a concerted stoppage of work by employees for a limited period of time. Can assume a wide variety of forms.

See general strike, intermittent strike, rotating strike, sit-down strike, sympathy strike, wildcat strike .
Collective agreement rendered void in banking sector: The main trade union in the banking sector, SBSI (a UGT-P affiliate), reported a case that has occurred with the Portuguese Business Bank (BPN), which was nationalised during the financial crisis. A pre-agreement that had been reached at an earlier stage between the trade union and the negotiating group representing several banks, including BPN, was rendered obsolete after the government directed the bank board not to proceed with a wage adjustment.
ILO Core Conventions Ratified:
29 Forced Labour (1930) 87 Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (1948) 98 Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining (1949) 100 Equal Remuneration for Work of Equal Value (1951) 105 Abolition of Forced Labour (1957) 111 Discrimination in Employment and Occupation (1958) 138 Minimum Age for Employment (1973) 182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention (1999)
Population:
Capital: Lisbon

reported violations - 2011

Documented violations - actual number of cases may be higher
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