Despite the welter of angry protests, Portugal’s Constitutional Court has given the go-ahead to government plans to add five hours to state workers’ weekly timetables. It means public sector workers will now have to work 40-hour weeks.
The decision was fraught with uncertainty, however, and ended up with a split jury: seven in favour and six against.
Opposition parties have been against the increase in working hours since it was first announced in September. The Socialists claimed it went against all the “principles of equality, proportionality and confidence”. Communists, Left Bloc and PEV (the green party) agreed and thus the measure was bounced over to the Constitutional Court which has been kept on its toes for months now, debating the all manner of life-altering government policies.
Referring to this week’s decision, Alberto Martins, the PS parliamentary leader, told Público newspaper that he respects the court’s decision but still believes the matter “raises a lot of doubts”.
PCP communist Jorge Machado went further, calling the decision a “regression in labour law”. He told Público he will now be launching a parliamentary initiative to reinstate the 35-hour working schedule.
But, in the meantime, it’s back to the grind for public sector workers.
