The Government highlighted today in parliament that the proposal to change the statute of Professional Orders is "a reform that eliminates barriers to accessing regulated professions" and that ensures that interns "are remunerated for their work".
It was up to the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs, Ana Catarina Mendes, to present the government's legislative initiative in plenary session which, in her words, was "a reform that has long been demanded and sought after", especially by young people and interns so that their work is duly remunerated, with at least minus 950 euros.
The obligation to remunerate interns is, according to Ana Catarina Mendes, the «first major amendment» of this bill that determines that work and internships are remunerated.
In addition to considering that this was a «reform desired by the most disadvantaged», by «eliminating unjustified barriers in accessing work and the profession», the minister stressed that this reform will also bring «greater transparency and openness» with the creation of the figure of the Ombudsman .
By removing barriers to access to regulated professions for more qualified young people, Ana Catarina Mendes also considered that this reform paves the way for a «society in frank change» and a «more competitive economy», by facilitating access for young people «to the market of work».
Such modifications and breaking down of barriers, he defended, will contribute to a «more just and solidary society».
The minister also alluded to the fact that the diploma also allows for the creation of multidisciplinary societies in which professionals will be able to "work together".
Ana Catarina Mendes recalled that the end of restrictions on access to regulated professions had been requested by the Competition Authority and by other entities for more than a decade, adding that this diploma «is a decisive step towards a reform that had been in the works for three years by the Government".
The minister justified that the diploma was preceded by a debate, namely with the professional Orders.
The rules of reciprocity between licensed professionals in Portugal and abroad and the respective requirements for accessing the profession were also some of the technical issues addressed by Ana Catarina Mendes.
In the parliament's galleries is the President of the Bar Association (OA) Fernanda de Almeida Pinheiro, and several members of the General Council of OA, at a time when OA has been very critical of the changes contained in the government's proposal.
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