"The approval in the final global vote of this parliamentary initiative will force the Government to present its resignation". This is the ultimatum that Prime Minister António Costa has just presented, in Lisbon, in a communication to the country, following yesterday's approval, by the Parliamentary Committee on Education, of the full replacement of the teachers' career time.
This initiative was approved, in the specialty, by the PSD, CDS, Left Bloc and PCP, but voting in the plenary of the Assembly of the Republic will have to take place by 15 May.
After meeting with the President of the Republic, António Costa made a declaration to the country this afternoon, from the official residence in São Bento, where, despite refusing the image of an ultimatum or blackmail, he admitted that this is «a set of socially unjust and financially unsustainable norms”.
The approved initiative provides for the return to teachers of 9 years, 4 months and two days of service, the time when careers were frozen.
For Costa, this measure "conditions future governance", creating a charge of at least 340 million euros, between this year and 2020, due to the payment of retroactive payments relating to January, also implying an amending budget.
On the other hand, the extension of the teachers' diploma to other special careers would imply an expenditure of over 800 million a year.
In addition, it creates «inequality between teachers and other civil servants», but also in relation to the rest of the Portuguese who lost income as a result of the crisis.
In his communication, the prime minister made a point of mentioning that “neither in the Government's program, nor in the electoral program of any party was included that this defrosting was accompanied by lost time. What was promised was to reset the time to count».
Despite the contraption having been shaken by this crisis, António Costa stressed that PCP and BE «were coherent».
"If there is anyone who is inconsistent and showed total disregard for the principle of budgetary responsibility, it was the other two parties that joined," said Costa, alluding to the PSD and CDS.
What is certain is that, in the Prime Minister's opinion, "the approval in the final global vote of this initiative constitutes an irreparable rupture with the commitment to balance the return of income and rights with the consolidation of public accounts and compromises Portugal's international credibility" .
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