The government approved today (21) in the Council of Ministers a proposal to amend labor legislation, which takes into account the priorities identified in the Decent Work Agenda.

Portugal Digital with Lusa

The proposed law, approved today, said the minister under President Mariana Vieira da Silva, “continues to amend labor legislation under the Decent Work Agenda through a range of measures to promote employment and its quality, combat instability,” strengthen workers’ rights, strengthen protecting young people and improving the balance between personal, professional and family life. “

The government is making it possible to amend labor legislation at a time when this topic is also one of the central ones in the discussion of the State Budget for 2022 (OE2022) and when the approval of OE2022 is not yet guaranteed.

The proposal will now be sent to parliament, where bills by various parties are already being discussed on labor issues, namely remote work or overtime pay.

Prior to this approval, changes in labor legislation under the Decent Work Agenda were discussed by the Public Concern, and this process ended without a proposal from the government, which managed to obtain the consent of the social partners.

Fixed-term contracts and overtime

Compensation for termination of fixed-term contracts will be extended to 24 days in accordance with the proposed amendment to labor laws approved today, and the cost of overtime work in excess of 120 per year will resume in effect until 2012.

The measures were announced today by Labor Minister Ana Mendez Godinho at the end of the Council of Ministers meeting and are part of a government proposal developed under the Decent Work Agenda, which will now be sent to parliament.

“With regard to combating unjustified volatile work and avoiding unjustified volatile work, the Council of Ministers decided to increase compensation for termination of fixed-term contracts, which is now 24 days a year,” said Minister Ana Mendes Godinho.

This measure doubles compared to 12 days a year, which are now provided for in the law, and, according to the minister, this measure is applied “for the future” from the moment it comes into force, that is, it no longer applies to contracts. during.

The proposal also includes a change in the amount of overtime pay, the restoration of amounts that were in force before the amendment of the Labor Code in 2012, in the event that overtime hours exceed 120 hours per year.

“With regard to overtime hours exceeding 120 hours per year, the amount of payment for hours valid until 2012 will be replaced,” the minister explained.

In 2012, after the amendment to the Labor Code, workers began to receive for every hour of overtime work an increase of 25% in the first hour (instead of 50% foreseen until then) and 37.5% for every hour of overtime. the next (against the previous 75%).

At the same time, the allowance for each hour of overtime work on a public holiday was reduced from 100% to 50%, and the rest period in force before that was canceled.

In 2015, a 50% reduction in pay for overtime work, work on public holidays or weekly days off was canceled, but only for situations covered by collective bargaining.

The restoration of values ​​is one of the measures that trade union centers and left-wing parties advocate.