Marking the entry into force of this legislative reform, CoLABOR provides a comparative table, contrasting the previous legal wording with that which came into force on May 1, 2023, highlighting the purely formal changes, the substantive changes, and the introduction of new rules, according to a color system that will allow for easier reading of the document.
In the first decade of the 21st century, the ILO developed an Agenda based on four objectives considered strategic by this organization: job creation; guaranteeing labor rights; extending social protection; and promoting social dialogue.
Within the framework of the work of the World Commission on the Social Dimension of Globalization, Decent Work was recognized as a fundamental principle for a Just Globalization.
In this context, at the 2008 International Labour Conference, the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization was adopted, and subsequently, the objective of Decent Work was included in the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
Given this context, the Portuguese Government has established a set of priorities regarding labor market regulation with a view to promoting the concept of decent work.
Following several prior discussions within the CPCS, the final version of the "Agenda for Decent Work and the Empowerment of Young People in the Labor Market" was presented in May 2022.
Subsequently, its content was incorporated into Bill No. 15/XV, whose preamble states that the legislative amendment in question “marks not only a specific concern for young people and young adults, whose situation and prospects are particularly affected by exposure to atypical forms of employment and the occurrence of a second major crisis within a decade, but also the dimension of living conditions and non-wage income, ensuring a better framework for young people entering the labor market and promoting sustainable transitions to active life, as well as a set of structural challenges, such as combating precarious employment in the most affected segments and in particular in its most extreme forms, improving workers' incomes, mobilizing new instruments to stimulate collective bargaining and prevent bargaining gaps, promoting a more balanced work-life balance, family and personal life, and responding to changes in work induced by the digital transition, as well as strengthening public services in the labor and social security areas.” These are the stated objectives of the labor reform.
Following its approval by the Assembly of the Republic and promulgation by the President of the Republic, Law No. 13/2023 was published in the Official Gazette on April 3, 2023.
Its entry into force will be marked by two distinct moments: on May 1, 2023, a substantial part of the legislative changes approved within the scope of this reform will come into force, especially the changes to the Labor Code and, at a later time, that is, on June 3, 2023, a set of other scattered decrees and, expectably, the regulation of a set of matters set out in the Code.