The social partners warn that the agreement is a starting point, given the uncertainty in the coming years

The social partners welcomed this Sunday the social consultation agreement reached with the government on Saturday, but warned that this commitment is a starting point given the unpredictability of the situation in the coming years.

A medium-term agreement to increase incomes, wages and competitiveness was signed this Sunday in Lisbon by Prime Minister António Costa and representatives of the Confederation of Portuguese Farmers (CAP), the Business Confederation of Portugal (CIP), the Confederation of Tourism of Portugal (CTP) and the General Union of Workers (UGT). ).

The Portuguese Confederation of Commerce and Services (CCP) signed the document ahead of the ceremony, while the CGTP refused to formalize the agreement, saying the planned measures were “not enough” to address the concerns of workers, pensioners and pensioners.

For the President of the KAP, the negotiations with the Government allowed for a “step forward”, since the document signed today is “very different” from what was presented to the confederation at the beginning of the process, covering “all farmers” with the planned measures. .

“These measures are not enough and they are not enough, but the unpredictability of the future and the complexity of everything in general force us all to take step by step, which was done in order to regain our competitiveness,” said Eduardo Oliveira i Souza.

The CAP official also asked for faster decisions such as paying farmers on time, lowering energy and fuel costs, investment processes, and cutting bureaucracy in the sector.

Antonio Saraiva, president of the CIP, stressed that the formalized agreement represented a “union of positions” between the parties, but warned that on the basis of this document it was necessary to “go further”.

“This is a starting point, not a point of arrival,” said António Saraiva, given that the four years of the agreement will include four state budgets.

“We want and will do everything in this sense so that within four years we can accomplish what we were now a little ambitious”, in the sense of achieving the transformation of the Portuguese economy, said the head of the CIP.

To do this, “the stars will have to converge, taking into account unpredictable external conditions,” he added.

The CTP president acknowledged that his expectations “were very low” at the start of the talks, but stressed that the content of the agreement is “a starting point that gives some hope.”

“For the first time, the original document and the final document are completely different from each other. In fact, there was coherence,” said Francisco Calleiros, adding that the confederation managed to see the long-requested measures in the field of tourism. in place.

“This agreement provides for a number of situations that need to be worked on. We’re going to actually work from a social coherence standpoint to fulfill this agreement, and in the end, there will be more economic growth and more family income. “, he said.

On the trade union side, the UGT general secretary underlined the “resolute efforts” of the negotiating partners to ensure that there were no obstacles to the final outcome of the agreement, which he considered possible.

“This is a possible agreement that we should welcome as it includes measures that provide undeniable benefits for workers’ incomes,” said Mario Murao.

For the trade unionist, given the unpredictability of the times to come and the difficulties of the war in Ukraine and rising inflation, “this agreement can be understood at least as a beacon to prevent the continuation of the unmanageable spiral” of power loss by the Portuguese.

“The signing of the agreement is the beginning of a road that can be a bit bumpy at times. The UGT will be constantly engaged and will continue uncompromising monitoring to ensure that the purchasing power of workers, pensioners and retirees is restored.” , assured Mario Murao.