João Cotrim agrees with the general strike. “If the social partners do not reach an agreement with the Government, the strike is a legitimate right”, he considers, speaking after a labor law that is “a step forward towards adapting to what is coming.” “It will make adjustments, avoid collective dismissals and this has happened abnormally in Portugal. It is not the perfect labor package, there could be more balance. I am against the proposals regarding breastfeeding for example”, he details, considering, however, that “Portugal has a high rate of precariousness and that rigidity has not helped.”
Jorge Pinto found a “profound difference” between the two. “We have three major problems in employment. We are the second most precarious European country, we have a high wage gap between men and women and a low birth rate. This package doesn’t solve anything. This right-wing wants to transform Portugal into Bangladesh. It’s not the country I want. There is a vicious circle of low added value. There is nothing to indicate that this law will increase wages. It will harm the decision to have the first child, there is instability in employment”, he explained, adding that to create economic value he advocates “the introduction of technology, automation and an economy of its own and research.”
Cotrim closed the employment section. “I heard Jorge Pinto say that we have to grow and increase salaries and I should ask why companies don’t come to Portugal? We have a tax burden, excessive bureaucracy and labor rigidity. Without these jobs, it will be impossible to pay salaries higher than that. We all want salaries to rise and this only happens with more companies growing”, he concluded.