Over the last 20 years, there have been profound changes in some of the legal principles on which collective labor relations in Portugal were based, notably with the introduction of the expiry regime for negotiated collective bargaining agreements.
With the possibility of collective labor regulation instruments ceasing to be in effect, the position of unions has been clearly weakened, to the detriment of the workers they represent: it is one thing to negotiate based on a body of rights that would serve as a starting point, and quite another to negotiate from a vacuum.
The possibility of generalizing the use of arbitration mechanisms, in order to mitigate this expiration and its effects, will tend to restore some balance in the relations between the parties – employers and unions – eliminating the threat of a near-validity in the post-expiry period.
Author: Filipe Lamelas
