Collective Bargaining

Public service trade unions in the Frente Comum have called a national demonstration on 5 February in defence of the pay and conditions of public sector employees. The unions are opposed to a range of government measures that they say will end up making public sector workers pay for the crisis.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/335; Portuguese: http://www.stal.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=455&Itemid=1

In early December, the government of Prime Minister Jos‚ S¢crates recently outlined plans to raise the country's minimum wage by 5.6% to Euro 475 a month. The wage hike came as another step in a minimum wage increase policy that S¢crates' government started in 2005. The Prime Minister explained, "Maybe some will criticize this decision by the government as we're still in a period of economic hardship, but it is in difficult times that we have to pay more attention to those who need it, to promote measures that reduce inequality and combat poverty." The main union confederation, CGTP, said the Euro 475 level matched its own proposal. The minimum wage hike has been effected from 1 January 2010.
English: http://www.neurope.eu/articles/98086.php; http://www.fedee.com/minwage.html

The STAL local government union says that around 60% of council workers joined the national strike on 16 September in defense of public sector workers' rights and against government proposals on worker mobility in the public sector, performance management and reorganisation of municipal services.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/323;
Portuguese: http://www.stal.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=438&Itemid=1

The SINTAP and STE public sector unions were among those signing a new collective agreement covering workers in public administration. The agreement lays down rules regarding training, working time - including flexible working hours - and telework. SINTAP believes the agreement will be an important step towards ensuring equal treatment of workers across the public administration. The agreement has not been signed by all public sector trade unions.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/323;
Portuguese: http://www.sintap.pt/

On 7 August a joint delegation of the STAL and STML trade unions presented demands for negotiation to the secretary of state for internal administration. The unions are concerned about government proposals to change the regulations covering the careers, working hours and other conditions employment of firefighters, and they demand the right to negotiate on this. They plan to resort to further action if they don't get a positive response from the government by 3 September.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/317#a5676;
Portuguese: http://www.stal.pt/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=429&Itemid=1

By the end of March the STAL local government union signed two new agreements with local fire associations in Vila de Rei and Covilha. The agreement with the Vila de Rei association includes a pay structure setting down rates for shift work and for working on rest days and holidays. It also includes a new career framework, a range of provisions covering other allowances and annual paid leave of 25 days. The Covilha agreement also sets out the main working conditions for firefighters in terms of careers, shift systems, allowances for travel and holidays. In addition there is a Euro 74 increase in pay.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/303;
Portuguese: http://www.stal.pt/artigo.asp?id=1015

According to the tripartite agreement signed in 2006, the statutory minimum wage should increase at an annual rate of about 5.3% during the period 2007-2011. The agreement allowed for a substantial increase of 5.6% in 2009 as to reach Euro 450 a month. In October 2008 the Prime Minister, Jos‚ S¢crates, confirmed that the government was going to respect this intention. Though the employer organizations were strongly opposing this plan, the union confederations were equally strongly in favour. The Prime Minister argued that "the situation of economic crisis is a stimulus for the accomplishment of the agreement", and finally the government laid down the 5.6% increase as of 1 January 2009. According to official sources, the statutory minimum wage currently applies to 4.5% of the labour force.
English: http://www.eurofound.europa.eu/eiro/2008/11/articles/pt0811039i.htm

The SINDEL energy trade union will resume negotiations with the EDP and REN energy companies this week after five bargaining rounds. The companies' latest offer of 1.5% or 2% depending on salary level still falls short of the union's demand for a 3.6% increase for all workers. However, it is an improvement on the previous offer, that would have seen a pay freeze for some workers and increases of 1.2% or 1.6% for others.
English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/287
Portuguese: http://www.sindel.pt/edpTS2009.pdf

Salaries for public sector workers rose by 2.9% from 1 January 2009. With a sharp drop in inflation to 0.8% in the year to December this means that workers should see a real increase in pay over the year. However, this will only begin to compensate them for a loss of purchasing power of between 7.2% and 10.4% in the years 2000 - 2008.
(English: http://www.epsu.org/cob/282)

The SNTCT and SINTTAV unions are continuing their struggle for their demands to be met in negotiations for their collective agreement with the Portuguese Postal company, CTT Correios. This struggle has been going on for many months now and SNTCT is actually involved in another 4 day strike to try and get CTT Correios back to the bargaining table. CTT Correios have also been making demands on the union that have made it extremely difficult for the latter to continue its day to day activities, such as insisting that union officials who are employed by CTT Correios are at their workplaces all the time instead of having time off for union activities that they have previously been entitled to under the "allegedly" now expired collective agreement.
(English: http://www.uniglobalunion.org/UNIPostal.nsf/0/A503220FA7FD1BC6C1257515004D58F9?OpenDocument)