Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS) Secretary-General José Luís Carneiro expressed skepticism that the General Workers' Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores or UGT) will approve the government's latest labour law proposal. While Prime Minister Luís Montenegro remains hopeful for a tripartite agreement, union officials and opposition leaders like José Manuel Pureza of the Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda or BE) have criticized the government's approach. The UGT is scheduled to finalize its position on the draft legislation this Thursday.
Uncertainty grows over government's proposed labour law reforms
Wednesday, 22 April 2026AI summary
Context & Explainers
José Luís Carneiro is a Portuguese politician and member of the Socialist Party (Partido Socialista or PS). He served as the Minister of Internal Administration (Ministro da Administração Interna) from 2022 to 2024 and currently holds a seat in the Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da República).
The General Union of Workers (UGT – União Geral de Trabalhadores) is one of Portugal’s two main national trade union confederations. Founded in Lisbon on 28 October 1978, it was created as a social‑democratic alternative to the more communist‑aligned CGTP after the 1974 Revolution, grouping unions close to the Socialist Party and moderate centre‑right currents.
UGT represents around 400,000 workers and is affiliated to the European Trade Union Confederation and International Trade Union Confederation, giving Portuguese labour a voice at EU and global level. Its principles stress union independence from the state, employers, churches and parties, internal democracy and active worker participation.
Historically, UGT’s hallmark has been “propositive” social dialogue: it is usually more willing than CGTP to sign tripartite agreements on wages, labour law and social policy with governments and employers, shaping minimum wage increases, working‑time rules and social protection reforms. This makes UGT a key centrist actor in Portugal’s industrial relations, often mediating between left and right while defending collective bargaining and incremental improvements to labour rights.
- Leader: Currently vacant (Mariana Mortágua resigned October 2025)
- Ideology: Democratic socialism, eco-socialism, feminism
- Founded: 1999
The Left Bloc (Bloco de Esquerda, BE) is a Portuguese left-wing party founded in 1999 as a coalition of far-left movements (UDP, PSR, and Política XXI). It positioned itself as a modern, progressive alternative to the traditional left, attracting younger urban voters with campaigns on social justice, LGBTQ+ rights, drug policy reform, housing, and labor protections.
The party's peak influence came during the 2015–2019 Geringonça ("contraption") government, when it supported António Costa's PS minority administration alongside the PCP. This arrangement reversed austerity measures and presided over economic recovery, giving BE significant policy leverage.
Since then, the party has suffered a sharp electoral decline — from 19 seats in 2015 to just 1 seat in the May 2025 election, its worst result in history. Leader Mariana Mortágua resigned in October 2025 after failing to reverse the slide. The party is currently undergoing a leadership contest and internal debate about its future direction, squeezed between the PS on one side and Livre on the other.
8 sources
- Pureza urges the President to "honour electoral promise" and state he will veto the labour packagertp.pt ·
- Do we want to stagnate or move forward? Montenegro says only political reasons will prevent an agreement on labour lawdn.pt ·
- Carneiro believes it will be difficult for the UGT to approve changes to labour lawsdn.pt ·
- CGTP leader insists on the "unconstitutionality" of the labour packageSÁBADO ·
- Carneiro considers it unlikely that the UGT will approve changes to labour lawscmjornal.pt ·
- Government still expects a "positive" decision from UGTobservador.pt ·
- Carneiro finds it difficult for the UGT to approve changes to labour lawspublico.pt ·
- Montenegro says UGT 'has every reason to sign a tripartite agreement with the Government'cnnportugal.iol.pt ·
