António Costa Silva, Minister of Economy, welcomed an idea from the sole deputy for Livre. The debate in Parliament on the policies of the Ministry of Economy was already long, almost finished, Rui Tavares asked a direct question. “On the question of how we can make our big companies realize the economic potential they have by treating their workers in the best way, there is a simple way that has already been applied in many countries around the world, namely in Europe. , which is having workers on the board of directors. With your management experience, what is your opinion about the presence of workers on the board of directors and what will you, as a leader, have to legislate for the benefit of the companies that decide to take this step, because it is a step that has proven its effectiveness ? that is, in German capitalism.
In response, the Minister of Economy expressed sympathy for the idea. “It is a model that we should probably follow in our country, but we have to analyze it and study it” and he reinforced: “The one that the deputy raises is an excellent idea.” The minister, who was not committed to any legislative measure, also guaranteed that “I have seen companies that follow this model and the results are much better than companies that do not. I think we have to explore that idea.”
The Government, of which he is Minister of the Economy, already had a measure in this regard in its government program, which was presented and debated in Parliament. According to the document, which serves the legislature between 2022 and 2026, the “Government undertakes (…) to establish mechanisms for the participation of worker representatives in the boards of directors of publicly traded companies and larger companies, in terms of wages and distribution of dividends, a measure that also affects the fight against income inequalities”. The same program mentions this possibility again, but considering only the universe of listed companies, in which mechanisms for the representation of workers must be established in the administrations “especially with regard to salary issues and distribution of dividends”.
In addition to the fact that this measure is included in the program, the Government did not return to rule on this issue. Returning the subject to the table with the question of Rui Tavares in Parliament.
Costa Silva considered not only an idea that should be studied, but also praised it: “We have to study the model and standard that you mentioned in detail, which is the German model, which is based on transforming companies into a kind of communities among workers. and companies. It is extremely positive for the operation of companies. Transforming them into communities, the participation of workers in the board of directors not only confers a greater sense of belonging, where issues are discussed, but also softens the set of labor relations, when employers understand that the situation and well-being of the workers is crucial for business transformation and wealth creation.
Livre will now work, according to the Observer, on measures in this regard. The party had also included an identical measure in its electoral program, although more complete. According to this document, Livre proposed “reinforcing the power of the workers”, “ensuring an effective representation of the workers in the decision-making processes to change the regime of Mercantile Companies, so that every company larger than a Small or Medium Enterprise (SME) must have workers’ representatives in its executive governing bodies”.
Co-management, as this representation is called, is a practice in several European countries, and in some cases the presence in control or supervision bodies.
Source: Observadora
