If it is true that we are living in times of great complexity and uncertainty as a result of the COVID-19 epidemic, which require preventive measures, expanding the National Health Service's capacity of response and protection in order to reduce and minimise its impacts on the health and life of the Portuguese, it is no less true that alongside this virus we face another one, also one of unpredictable dimensions and consequences, the virus that attacks workers' rights and increases exploitation.
The workers and populations who, despite the advances achieved, face a difficult life, with low wages and extreme job precariousness, are once again the main victims of all kinds of abuses against their rights which, under the pretext of fighting the epidemic outbreak and in the wake of several bills of the state of emergency, are underway in companies and workplaces.
More than one million workers in lay-offs, thousands of new unemployed, forced vacations, cuts in wages, deregulation of working hours, banks of hours, violation of the most basic rules of safety and hygiene at work, pressure, blackmail , imposition of fear, this is the prescription not only for the moment but also thinking about the near future.
What we are really witnessing are sectors of employers, in particular, large companies, once again taking advantage of the current situation to take exploration further, with the sole aim of accumulating profit.
We do not underestimate the difficult situation that in particular micro, small and medium-sized companies face and the effort they are making, but this is not the reality of large and profitable companies, many of which are right now distributing dividends to their shareholders.
Four aspects to take into account at this moment:
First, the measures and changes in the labour legislation always presented as innovative and modern, are nothing more than instruments of precariousness and attack on rights, see for example the result in the current situation, of the recent inclusion in the labour law of the so-called trial period.
It was the workers in this framework who were the first to be dismissed, as well as those on fixed-term contracts, false self-employed from subcontractors, among other situations of extreme precariousness.
Second aspect, the structuring and decisive role of workers in society and economic bolstering, an aspect that is all too clear in today's very complex moment. The workers with their dedication and work, often without the necessary sanitary conditions and with high degrees of exploitation, guarantee in the various sectors that the country continues to function.
Third aspect, the attack on workers' wages and income, in addition to the profound social injustice they advocate, are simultaneously attacks on the economic development of the country.
The restoration of wages, income and rights of workers and populations was the structuring factor for the positive economic evolution registered in recent years.
So what is the impact, first of all on the lives of each and everyone, but also on the economic level, for example, that of more than one million workers who are currently with one third less of their salary as a result of the lay off?
Those looking to anticipate a very slow economic recovery in the post-epidemic period will certainly be thinking that once again wages and rights will pay the economic costs.
Fourth and last aspect, once again, the struggle and resistance of the workers, the action of the unitary trade union movement and the determining and class-oriented role of the PCP, which constitute the great obstacle to the aims of the employers and the guarantee of the defence and achievement of rights.
It is on these matters and others and following a wide range of initiatives and actions that the PCP has been carrying out to combat attacks on workers' rights, of which we highlight the session held last Saturday that we are going to talk about today at this hearing with the motto “In the fight against the epidemic, not a single right less”.
