Yolanda Díaz and her counterpart Rosário Palma sign a Declaration of Intentions to advance bilateral cooperation

The Second Vice-President of the Government of Spain and Minister for Work and Social Economy, Yolanda Díaz, and her Portuguese counterpart after the signing of the bilateral agreements (Pool Moncloa/Fernando Calvo)

In the framework of the 35th Spanish-Portuguese summit, Díaz held a meeting with Palma Ramalho, with whom she agreed to undertake a new plan of activities for 2025 and 2026.

In recent years, with the previous Portuguese Government, collaboration and technical cooperation had been intensified both in the field of employment and vocational training, and on issues of social dialogue, labour relations and working conditions, health and safety at work, labour inspection and social economy.

During the meeting, the vice-president was interested in the pilot project carried out in Portugal to reduce working hours, which has tested different models and degrees of reduction. Díaz commented on the success of the initiative. "The result is what we expected, i.e. by compressing the same tasks into fewer hours, productivity does not drop, quite the contrary. That is why it is time for working people to get time back in their lives," she said.

Díaz and Palma Ramalho also discussed the tradition of collaboration and joint work that their departments have been carrying out in matters being settled in the European Union. Díaz also insisted on highlighting the priority of collaboration in the Ibero-American sphere, where the Social Economy, Public Employment Services and Labour Inspection networks have been set up with the support of Lisbon.

With a view to the new European legislature, Díaz urged to continue working for a more social, green and feminist Europe, "a Europe that expands rights, provides stability, protects our citizens," she concluded.

Non official translation