The labour reform bill is heading to parliament. Here's exactly what's in it.

Good morning, Lisbon. It's Sunday, 17 May. Twenty-three degrees, sunny. The jacarandas are at their peak and the labour reform bill is heading to parliament.

🌬️ AIR QUALITY: 20 (Good).

🗞️ TOP STORY

THE GOVERNMENT APPROVED THE LABOUR REFORM BILL ON THURSDAY. HERE'S WHAT'S IN IT AND WHAT HAPPENS NEXT.

After nine months of negotiations that ended without agreement, the Council of Ministers approved the Trabalho XXI labour reform bill on Thursday and will send it to parliament in the coming days. Labour Minister Rosário Palma Ramalho said the proposal contains more than 50 alterations to the original July 2025 anteprojeto, 12 of them based on proposals from the UGT. "We're only halfway," she said. "Now we play the game in Parliament, which is the supreme legislator."

The UGT was not impressed. Secretary-general adjunct Sérgio Monte said the proposal going to parliament is "very close to the one we received in July last year," which received "a resounding no." The core provisions the UGT opposed are all still there.

Here is what the bill proposes, in the areas that matter most to anyone working in Portugal:

Contracts. Fixed-term contracts extend from two to three years. Fixed-term uncertain contracts extend from four to five years. Both mean workers wait longer before finding out whether they get a permanent position or lose their job. Young people and long-term unemployed can once again be hired on fixed-term contracts, a measure that had been restricted.

Working hours. The individual hour bank returns by agreement between employer and worker: up to two extra hours per day, 150 hours per year. After six months, unused hours must be paid at a 25% premium. This was abolished in 2019. It's back.

Outsourcing. Companies can outsource any area of their operations. The previous restriction preventing outsourcing within one year of a collective dismissal is removed. The UGT's Monte called this "dismissing to hire cheaper."

Dismissal. Currently, when a court declares a dismissal unlawful, reinstatement is the default except for micro-enterprises. The bill extends the employer's right to request exclusion from reinstatement to companies of all sizes. The worker gets a higher compensation payment instead, but loses the right to their job back.

Parental leave. The initial parental leave can reach six months at 100% pay when shared between both parents in the final phase. The father's exclusive leave is extended. In cases of pregnancy loss, the mother receives 14 to 30 days at full pay from Social Security, and the father gets three days of justified absence.

Parents and carers. A continuous working day (shorter lunch break, earlier finish) is introduced for parents and grandparents of children under 12, or children with disabilities, chronic illness, or cancer. Breastfeeding leave remains at two hours per day paid by the employer until the child is two, which the minister noted is the most favourable regime in Europe.

Strikes. The sectors classified as "vital" for minimum service purposes are expanded. In all strikes affecting vital sectors, minimum services will be mandatory.

Palma Ramalho justified the reform by noting that Portugal has the second most rigid labour legislation in the OECD. The bill, she said, aims to "reinforce workers' rights and guarantees in the 21st century" by increasing productivity, competitiveness, and creating conditions to pay "European-level salaries."

Montenegro said on Wednesday that both Chega and the PS have shown openness to discussing the bill in parliament. If both major opposition parties engage, the bill has a viable path to passage. If they don't, the veto from President Seguro, who pledged during his campaign to block labour legislation without union support, becomes the likely outcome.

The CGTP's general strike on June 3 remains confirmed. Tiago Oliveira has called on all workers to participate. The UGT says it will "take the fight to parliamentary groups" but has not yet decided whether to join the strike.

Bottom line: The bill is heading to parliament. The provisions that unions opposed most strongly, outsourcing, longer fixed-term contracts, the end of mandatory reinstatement, are all still in it. If you work in Portugal on a fixed-term contract, or your company uses outsourcing, or you're a parent navigating work-life balance, this bill will change the rules you operate under. Watch the parliamentary debate and the June 3 strike.

⚡ QUICK HITS

Porto is raising the rainbow flag today in defiance of a national ban. Porto City Hall is flying the LGBTQIA+ flag on May 17, International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia, and Transphobia, in direct defiance of a law restricting the display of non-institutional symbols at government buildings. The restriction was passed with Chega's support. Porto's response is deliberate and public.

Portugal has been named the world's best wedding destination. A study by DressPreservation.com ranked Portugal first globally, ahead of Italy and Spain. Whether you're planning a wedding or just looking for validation that you moved to the right country, this one's for you.

The Giro d'Italia update. Portuguese cyclist Afonso Eulálio held the maglia rosa for several stages this week. Whether he still has it this morning depends on yesterday's mountain stage. Worth following.

🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

COMPTOIR PARISIEN (BELÉM

There is a French bistro in Belém, tucked behind the main road on Rua Vieira Portuense, that most people walk past on their way to Pastéis de Belém without ever noticing. That is a shame, because Comptoir Parisien is one of the most pleasant places to eat in the neighbourhood, and on a Sunday afternoon in May it is exactly the kind of lunch that justifies living in this city.

Nicole and Gilles, a French couple who moved to Lisbon, opened Comptoir Parisien roughly a decade ago. The concept is Parisian bistro cooking with Portuguese ingredients: confit de canard alongside grilled sardines, bavette with shallots next to a bacalhau crumble with leek fondue, charcuterie boards built from Portuguese and French cured meats, and an octopus risotto that borrows from both traditions without apologising to either.

The terrace is the reason to come on a day like today. It faces a small park (Jardim Ducla Soares), shaded by trees, and feels completely removed from the tourist crowds 50 metres away on Rua de Belém. The interior is a proper bistro room: zinc bar, blackboard specials, wine by the glass, and French being spoken at most of the surrounding tables. The staff switch between French, Portuguese, and English without missing a beat.

Dishes run around €15 to €20. The wine list is short, affordable, and leans toward Portuguese reds and French rosés. The daily specials are where the kitchen does its best work. Sunday lunch here, followed by a walk through the Jardim de Belém toward the Torre, is one of the better ways to spend a May afternoon.

→ See why Belém locals keep this one off the tourist trail ←

Rua Vieira Portuense 44, Belém. Sunday hours: 11am to 5pm. Also open Tuesday and Wednesday 11am to 5pm, Thursday to Saturday 11am to 4pm and 6:30pm to 10pm. Closed Mondays. Tram 15 to Belém. A two-minute walk from Pastéis de Belém.

Insider tip: Go at noon on a Sunday before the post-Pastéis crowd spills over. Ask for the terrace. Order whatever the daily special is before looking at the menu. And if the confit de canard is on, don't overthink it.

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See you tomorrow morning.