PCP says first months of legislature have been problematic, criticises government

The PCP noted on Thursday that the first months of this parliamentary term had been “marked by growing problems” with the people criticizing the government and promising to continue to condemn its political actions when parliament resumes work.

In its assessment of the parliamentary work carried out by PCP deputies in the XIV Legislative Assembly, which began in March of this year, the party stresses that these first four months “have been marked by an increase in problems affecting workers and the Portuguese people”, with “the maintenance of low wages and reforms”, “the degradation of public services” or “the deepening of inequalities and injustices”.

“This lack of reaction on the part of the PSD and SDS-PP government is part of a strategy to deepen the right-wing policies that the previous PS government had already pursued, in the service of big capital,” the party criticises.

The PCP deputies emphasize that they “from the very first moment” assumed that they would “fight against these options, which cannot even be implemented, by submitting a proposal to reject the government’s program, as well as a draft resolution to reject the Stability Program.”

In total, according to the balance sheet published by the party, the PCP presented 75 initiatives in the first months of work of this legislative body: 46 bills, 28 draft resolutions and a proposal to create a parliamentary commission of inquiry into the privatization of ANA Aeroportos, which failed with votes against by the PSD, PS, SDS and Chega abstaining.

The party stresses that in its speech “it prioritised the need to raise wages and pensions, remove onerous labour standards and strengthen workers’ rights, increase the value of a long career through contributions, invest in public schools, protect access to housing, create a public network of childcare facilities” and increase the value of various professional categories.

The PCP also emphasizes its intervention “for the purposes of fiscal justice, in alleviating the taxation of low and intermediate incomes and in the effective taxation of high incomes”, as well as in “the defense of peace, in particular the recognition of the State of Palestine by the Portuguese government and putting an end to the massacre of the Palestinian people.”

The PCP parliamentary group promises to continue its actions “to condemn the political options of the SDS/SDS government that lead to the deterioration of living conditions and the service of basic interests” and to “expose policies that do not serve either the people or the country, and this must be stopped.”