Government relaunches social dialogue on strategy for the euro

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In early 1998, the Portuguese Government proposed a relaunch of the "strategic concertation" process with the social partners, with the aim of drawing up a strategy for the coming EU single currency, the euro.

In early 1998, the Portuguese Government proposed a relaunch of the national "strategic concertation" process to those social partners represented on the tripartite Strategic Concertation Standing Committee (Comissão Permanente de Concertação Social, CPCS), which is part of the Economic and Social Council (Conselho Económico e Social, CES). The objective of relaunching the process is to create a "strategy for the euro", the forthcoming single European currency.

The government initiative can best be seen as a means to restart tripartite social concertation and dialogue within the CPCS. In effect, over 1997 the current 1996-9 tripartite economic and social agreement, the Strategic Concertation Pact (Acordo de Concertação Estratégica, ACE), underwent a number of setbacks. The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses, CGTP), which did not sign the Pact, disagreed with the workings of the CPCS, alleging that its functions had virtually been taken over by the "monitoring committee" of the ACE, in which the CGTP does not participate (PT9712155F). On the employers' side, the Confederation of Portuguese Commerce (Confederação do Comércio e Serviços de Portugal, CCP) and the Confederation of Portuguese Farmers (Confederação dos Agricultores de Portugal, CAP) have withdrawn from participation in the concertation process (PT9709139N), while a number of important ACE measures have not achieved sufficient consensus to be put into practice through legislation.

In short, the tripartite social concertation process "lost steam" throughout 1997 and it is obvious that it is now necessary to revitalise it.

A partial remodelling of the cabinet at the end of 1997, which affected the Ministries of Labour and of the Economy, has provided the opportunity for relaunching the process of strategic concertation. First and foremost, it is the Government's intention to include the CGTP in new negotiations without generating conflict with the other social partners (which did sign the ACE). This is the main reason behind the initiative to establish a strategy for the euro, with a time horizon of 2002.

The main thrust of the strategy will be to reach a consensus on structural policies that increase the economy's overall competitiveness and foster social cohesion thereby strengthening Portuguese society in the post-May 1998 period (when Portugal enters the core group of founder euro countries). With this in mind, some of the measures provided for in the current ACE would be implemented in the short term, while others would taken in by a strategic pact on the euro.

The two trade union confederations and the three employers' confederations have so far turned down the Government's proposal. A new set of meetings between the Government and the social partners will soon take place to further clarify the content of negotiations, as well as methods and time-frames.