Nuno Cerejeira Namora, founding partner at Cerejeira Namora, Marinho Falcão, considered the rejection of labor reform in Portugal to be "enormous disappointment," arguing that the discussion should not end. During a conference organized by Jornal Económico at AIP – Associação Industrial Portuguesa, the lawyer stated that Portugal needs to amend the Labor Code to increase productivity and attract investment, considering that the country remains too rigid compared to its competitors, namely Spain. Cerejeira Namora criticized legislation he considers "ritualistic, procedural and protectionist" that has not kept pace with technological and market evolution.
While labor reform stalled, the transposition of the Salary Transparency Directive is expected to advance this year due to European requirements. The lawyer highlighted differences between the directive and the Portuguese proposal, including when salary information must be provided, response deadlines to information requests, and the prohibition of salary confidentiality clauses. The Portuguese proposal also intends to extend application to companies with more than 50 workers, whereas the European directive provides for obligations for companies with approximately 250 workers, which Cerejeira Namora considered could be "a revolution" for the Portuguese business fabric dominated by small and medium-sized enterprises.
Among the measures the lawyer wants to see reintroduced on the agenda are individual working time banks, the purchase of vacation days, and the payment of bonuses in monthly installments. Cerejeira Namora also advocated for changes to the outsourcing regime, fixed-term contracts, remote work, the right to reinstatement after unlawful dismissal, and strike legislation. He also criticized collective bargaining and the role of unions, considering that many collective contracts remain out of step with economic reality and arguing that their termination should be permitted to allow negotiation of new agreements.
Despite the rejection of the reform, Cerejeira Namora expressed optimism about the topic returning to the political agenda this year. "I am optimistic, I am a dreamer and I believe, I have to believe that this matter will be on the agenda still this year," he stated, leaving the message that the debate on business competitiveness, productivity and labor market flexibility cannot be stalled.
