Secretaria-Geral do Ministério do Trabalho, Solidariedade e Segurança Social

O Council of Ministers approved the draft law to amend labour legislation, as part of the Decent Work Agenda.

At the press conference following the Council of Ministers, which took place in Algés, Oeiras, the Minister of Labour, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, said that "this is an ambitious, powerful agenda that the country needs".

Ana Mendes Godinho also said that "the most ambitious and most sought-after resource at the moment is talent, is the ability to attract and retain workers in Portugal", adding that this draft law "aims to give young people a strong message that the labour market values them and that Portugal is a country that promotes sustainable employment in various dimensions".

The Minister highlighted the fact that, in Portugal, the average of fixed-term contracts is about 21%, while the European Union average stands at 15%. In the case of young people, ‘the percentage of workers on non-permanent contracts is 62.2%, while in the European Union it is 49%’.

Ana Mendes Godinho also said that the Decent Work Agenda - which now goes to the Assembly of the Republic - aims, above all, to "guarantee young people that we are promoting sustainable working relationships and that they also allow them to have their life choices".

The Minister said that "this is an agenda that responds, in fact, to a need that the country has" and is, above all, "designed to give strength to workers", with a view to "a healthy labour market, with motivated workers, with training and with the ability to be decisive for competitive productive companies" and in which workers review themselves.

Source: Government Portal