EU opens infringement proceedings against Portugal for failing to protect workers’ rights

The European Commission has opened infringement proceedings against Portugal, saying the country’s labour legislation is not fully aligned with European Union rules designed to guarantee transparent and predictable working conditions for employees.

The move forms part of the Commission’s July infringement package, and comes in the context that the government still hopes to push through labour reforms that unions in this country claim ride roughshod over hard-won workers’ rights.

According to the Commission, Portugal (along with the Czech Republic, Estonia, Ireland, Greece, Hungary, the Netherlands and Finland) have failed to fully transpose the EU Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions into national law.

The directive is intended to ensure that all workers across the EU receive clear and timely information about the essential terms of their employment, including working hours, pay, job security and other key contractual conditions.

Brussels said the legislation also strengthens protections against abusive employment practices – such as unpredictable work schedules and last-minute shift allocations – while guaranteeing that any mandatory training required by employers is provided free of charge to workers.

Portugal and the other seven countries now have two months to respond to the Commission’s concerns and take the necessary steps to address the shortcomings identified.

If Brussels considers the replies unsatisfactory, it may issue a reasoned opinion, the next stage in the infringement procedure before potential referral to the Court of Justice of the European Union.

The action comes just weeks after the Commission confirmed it was also assessing how member states, including Portugal, had transposed the EU’s new Pay Transparency Directive. The deadline for implementing those rules into national legislation expired on June 7.

The Pay Transparency Directive enshrines the long-standing EU principle of equal pay for equal work, or work of equal value, between women and men.

Under the new rules, employers must disclose salary ranges and/ or starting pay in job advertisements and/ or before interviews take place.

Employees are also entitled to request written information about their own pay levels and the average remuneration, broken down by gender, for workers performing equivalent roles.

Companies operating within the EU must also take corrective action where gender pay gaps exceed 5%. The directive provides for compensation for victims of pay discrimination and allows member states to impose sanctions, including fines, on employers that fail to comply.

According to the European Commission, a lack of salary transparency remains one of the main barriers to closing the gender pay gap across the bloc. Eurostat data for 2024 show women in the EU continue to earn, on average, around 11% less per hour than men for work of equal value.

Source material: CNN Portugal

Natasha Donn

Journalist for the Portugal Resident.