Chega-PSD labor reform talks stall but continue ahead of Friday vote

Meeting ends without deal

Chega party leader André Ventura spent an hour and a half with Prime Minister Luís Montenegro at São Bento on Tuesday afternoon. After the meeting, Ventura told reporters that no understanding had been reached on the government's proposed labor law reforms. The two sides identified areas of convergence and divergence, but fundamental disagreements persist. Ventura did not rule out an agreement "in the next hours" and said that a negotiation process was under way between Chega and PSD. Party teams will continue working through the night and into Wednesday.

So far it has not been possible to reach an understanding on these matters.

Chega's three red lines

Ventura laid out three non-negotiable demands: reducing the retirement age to 65 or after 40 years of social security contributions, restoring three vacation days cut during the Troika adjustment program (from 25 to 22 days) for both the private and public sectors, and abolishing lifetime subsidies for former politicians. He also listed other Chega priorities, including a grandparent leave, the removal of breastfeeding restrictions, and changes to rules on gestational mourning and paternity leave. Ventura repeated his assessment that the existing labor code "is badly made and was badly designed from the start."

It is known that there are fundamental issues that separate the two parties.

Potential opening on subsidies and holidays

Despite the lack of a full agreement, Ventura noted that Montenegro's PSD had shown an "opening" to ending lifetime subsidies and to restoring the vacation days. The Chega leader presented this as a possible breakthrough, though he acknowledged that no final accord had been sealed. On the retirement age, Ventura admitted it is "budgetarily complex" and the hardest concession for the government to accept.

What happens next

The parliamentary debate on the labor reform is scheduled for Thursday, June 18, with the vote set for Friday, June 19. Ventura said the party's teams are working intensively to "reach some presentable result" before then and did not rule out an agreement "in the next hours." If no deal is struck, the government's proposal may fail to pass when it reaches the chamber.