President steps back as labour reform talks reach decisive week
Of course, the President of the Republic does not replace any of the partners—neither the employers' representatives nor the workers' representatives. He does not replace them, nor does he wish to.
He states that the final outcome rests with the partners and the government and that now is not the time for the president to intervene.
The President of the Republic respects the proper timelines: the time for social dialogue, the time for parliament, and there will come a moment when the decree reaches Belém Palace. At that point, it will be time for the social partners and parliament to respect the president's timeline, because that is when he will make his decision, the head of state told journalists in Madrid.
António José Seguro backtracked in his response to a question about whether he would veto the labor reform if no agreement is reached in social dialogue.
The president did not want to shift focus from his official visit to Spain, but he has already assured that he will remain consistent with his stance during the election campaign, when he stated that he would veto the government's initial proposal—a version that is no longer on the table—and that he hoped for progress and dialogue, a call he has repeatedly made.
Meetings with the social partners are scheduled for Wednesday afternoon. The following day, the UGT will convene its national secretariat to decide whether to sign the agreement with the government. Over the weekend, the union had already signaled that reaching a deal would be very difficult.
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