Welcome to the Official page of the Presidency of the Portuguese Republic

Honourable President of the European Commission,
Honourable President of UGT,
Honourable Secretary General of UGT,
Honourable Mayor of Lisbon,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I wish to start by congratulating the General Workers’ Union on the 30th Anniversary of their founding. I congratulate its officers, the federations, the associations and the associated trade unions and all those that built these three decades of history. Thirty years of great difficulties, but also of undeniable successes and decisive contributions for the consolidation of the democratic regime in Portugal.

Not everyone will remember how, more than 30 years ago, the national debate surrounding the model of society and the type of democracy that the Portuguese wished for their Country was marked by the defence of the freedom of trade unionism and of pluralism in workers’ representation.

The consecration of the principle of the freedom and pluralism of trade unionism in the 1976 Constitution reflected that movement of defence of freedom and was a fundamental milestone in the history of Portuguese democracy.

Trade unionism, such as it is represented nowadays, is the result of the founding options of the democratic regime and, through this, one of the pillars of the social and political life of our country.

The guarantee of the free setting up of trade unions and the free association of workers, with the objective of defending their interests, is a basic principle of the matrix upon which their activity is based, from the demand for their rights to collective negotiation, from consultation to social dialogue with the employing company, from dialogue with the State to participation in the community and the international bodies in which they are represented.

It is thus that the trade unions have been reserved an institutional role of leadership which goes much further than just representing the interests of the workers.

As President of the Republic, it is my duty to care for the effective materialisation of this framework and to promote, as I heave defended for a long time, the value of social consultation.

After several unsuccessful trials to set up institutional devices for social consultation in the end of the seventies, the debate on its possibilities was re-launched in the following ten years.

I am proud of having contributed towards that re-launch and, with the participation and the endeavour of the social partners it was possible to set up, in 1984, the Standing Committee for Social Consultation.

From then on, extremely relevant objectives were reached, not just for the history of the Portuguese trade union movement but, above all, to create a favourable social environment for the development of our country.

The consecration in the constitutional text, as part of the 1989 review, of a consultation body in the field of economic and social policies, was followed by the Economic and Social Agreement of 1990, which I dare qualify as one of the most far reaching tools produced at any time in the realm of consultation.

This Agreement resulted from the common wish of the trade unions’ and employers’ confederations, as well as that of the Government, that established a commitment in order to institutionalize dialogue between social partners as a fundamental requisite of a model of governance and development that needed urgent stabilization.

Throughout these twenty years of operation of the Standing Committee of Social Consultation and of the Economic and Social Council, it was possible to build consensus, as expressed in almost twenty consultation documents, targeting such important issues as income policies, working conditions, professional training or conditions of hygiene and safety at work.

A capital of trust was built, as well as that of the culture of dialogue and convergence over issues central to the progress of our Country, a capital which must not be overlooked.

For this reason I believe that a fair and deserved tribute should be paid to all those that contributed towards the consolidation of a dialogue and social consultation policy. UGT was one of such actors, and its officers can be proud of such a contribution and of the quality of their performance.

Portuguese experience in social consultation allows us, these days, a speech recognized by our European partners. They are well aware that such experience was also decisive for the success of the Portuguese integration in the European Community. And not for this reason alone were the obstacles and difficulties any less difficult to overcome.

The opening up of borders and that of the Portuguese economy, the new dimensions of the competition, the emergence of new instances and new means of regulation, and the sharing of sovereignty in extremely sensitive areas, were challenges placed by European integration, which are now joined by others, not any less relevant, placed by the process of globalization.

Even if the definition of the legal framework of working conditions is kept in an essentially national context, it is unquestionable that the range of issues in the labour markets has now assumed a trans-national dimension.

Along with the recognized mobility of capital, of knowledge, of technology and of goods in general, we are facing today a growing mobility of the labour factor, expressed in the massing of the migratory flows, with a growing trend for deregulation and an undeniable increase in the uncertainty of labour relations.

The intervention of trade unionism is decisive so that these changes may occur within a framework which will safeguard the dignity and the value of work, avoiding, specifically, the transposition to the law and to institutional operations of a deregulation lacking in ethics and without respect for the values proper to the human being.

The more complex the challenges, the more we have to examine what we have done, and how we did it, and gain from that experience the teachings that give us greater strength to face the present and greater conviction to build the future.

We have to recognize that it is not an easy task to deal with the simultaneous procedures of the recovery of the country’s economic lag, of integration in the European area, of adapting to the new conditions imposed by the progressive globalization of the economies and of the markets and, yet still, the deep structural change brought by the technological revolution. However, if we realize that all this happened in a period just short of the two last decades, we will then understand that it was a giant step which we all trod towards the future.

It is from this rendering that I became convinced that we have an enormous potential to adapt ourselves and overcome these new challenges, It is not worth while evading reality, nor hide the difficulties which we have all been through, but it is necessary to turn each threat into an opportunity, each obstacle into the proof of our collective will to win.

I am certain that trade unionism will provide a further proof of its maturity, of its knowledge and its experience, whilst responsibly and constructively contributing towards the identification of the issues and for determining the best solutions for the development objectives which we all want for Portugal.

The General Workers’ Union has already given sufficient proof of its availability, its exertion and its sense of responsibility which difficult times require of us all.

That the celebration of these 30 years of existence be a living proof of the commitment of Portuguese workers towards a more prosperous, more dignified and socially fairer Portugal.

Please accept my recognizance and best wishes for a Happy Anniversary.