Trade Union Action in Portugal

the national, regional and global scale

Abstract

This paper develops a theoretical and bibliographical analysis of the various scales in which trade unionism acts, as a key movement in the defense of the Right to Labour. It starts with a discussion on the centrality of labour, and follows into the restructuring of productive systems and a discussion of labour based on political economy. Afterwards, the social disaffiliation of the individual is analyzed, considered as a challenge to the trade union movement. From this standpoint, the role of trade unionism in the defense of the Right to Labour is discussed, and the ways in which it has reacted to the various social and economic transformations previously approached, highlighting the challenges it faces and the possibilities it has. Finally, based on the Portuguese case, the various scales of trade union action – national, regional, European and global – are analyzed, explaining the potentialities and challenges it faces in each of these scales in the defense of the Right to Labour. It is concluded that trade unionism, depending on the scale considered, on one hand has different paths of action, and on the other different difficulties.