New issues on large-scale retail sector bargaining agenda

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In November 1999, the social partners in Portugal's large-scale retail enterprises sector met to discuss proposals for collective agreements for 2000. Items to be addressed include the reduction of working time, weekly rest periods, limits on "non-standard" employment levels, vocational training and equal opportunities

Employment issues in commerce, and especially in large-scale retail businesses, have been the subject of recent debate in Portugal. The fast-growing phenomenon of large-scale retail enterprises - hypermarkets that cover thousands of square metres and sell everything from foodstuffs to clothing and home repair items - is seen as being the source of precarious employment, especially in relation to employment contracts and non-application of labour regulations.

In November 1999, the Portuguese Federation of Commerce, Offices and Services' Unions (Federação Portuguesa dos Sindicatos do Comércio, Escritórios e Serviços, FETESE) met with the Portuguese Association of Distribution Companies (Associação Portuguesa das Empresas de Distribuição), to prepare negotiations over a new collective agreement laying down regulations on employment conditions for the large-scale retail sector. This pre-negotiation phase aims to deal with the most controversial topics beforehand, with the parties involved hoping to shorten negotiations by smoothing over prospective areas of conflict before the actual bargaining begins. The trade union is calling for:

• progressive reduction of weekly working time to 35 hours;

• a reduction of the number of workers with a precarious and insecure employment situation;

• a guarantee of equal opportunities;

• improved health and safety conditions in the workplace;

• access to continuing vocational training; and

• respect for the rights of women, young people, people with disabilities and working students.

FETESE will also be negotiating a revision of the general sectoral agreement at the beginning of 2000. Aside from pay, the unions want the revision to deal with:

• part-time work, primarily setting limits on the number of workers with this status;

• working time organisation, which in this sector is based on a seven-day working week;

• weekly rest periods;

• increases in paid holidays; and

• career progression.

The prominent inclusion of the topic of equal opportunities on FETESE's bargaining agenda went through a number of steps that included:

• discussion of the results of a study on employment in supermarkets and hypermarkets in several EU Member States, which involved a number of companies, unions and national labour administrations;

• the signing of a protocol between one of Portugal's major large-scale retail businesses and FETESE on helping to redress and avoid situations of inequality in the future; and

• finally, presentation of a proposal to deal with equal opportunities by means of collective regulation. FETESE states that commerce is a highly competitive sector and that general regulation of the issue will be the best way to assure that the human resources factor is not used in unfair competition.