The Labour Crisis in Portugal Posted by Gabriel on 9:53 pm

Avoid the crisis, rent this lovely T0

Unless you have been living in a cave for the past few years (which is likely given the rising housing prices and rent in recent years), you know that Portugal has been going through tough times as of late.

 While creating employment was one of the proposed solutions of the former government to avert the current financial crisis, with programs being created as early as 2008, the unemployment rate, especially amongst the younger generation, is at an all time high of 28.1% as of May, according to the latest Eurostat figures.

We wouldn't have know, if were not for the sign...

The Portuguese government, due to the concessions imposed on it, has been announcing new austerity measures every day, many of these focusing on employment and labour legislation.

The new government has stated that they are planning to change current labour laws, making them more flexible in order to enhance the ability of employers and big business to respond to the financial crisis. With a more flexible labour force, employers can respond to peaks and lulls of consumer demand more dynamically, cutting costs and improving efficiency. Even before the financial crisis, many international corporations criticised Portugal as a tough market to establish a business, precisely due to the protectionist labour laws.

Unfortunately, what these changes entail is facilitating layoffs and dismissals of employees, leaving them with very little protection or rights. The government plans to eliminate the figure of temporary contracts and make probation period more flexible. Consequently, changes will be made to the legal regime of permanent contracts, reducing them to a figure comparable to the “at will” employment regime of many US states, where either part can rescind or terminate the contract without cause. Apparently, the objective here is to make every workplace in Portugal a temp agency.

The beaver of justice has a nice ring to it

They have also proposed cutting employer social security contributions, meaning that employees will endure the brunt of social security contributions, in order to make the Portuguese market more attractive for companies by reducing their costs. They have also announced tax breaks to large business, while hiking the taxes of the workers.

As a result, they are also planning to cut unemployment benefits, since, as a direct result of lowering of social security contributions, the current system of benefits will be (not to say already is) unsustainable. Pensions will also be cut and a ceiling imposed.

The conjugation of all of these proposed changes makes for a grim future for the Portuguese worker. Frankly, I am surprised at the lack of popular reaction to these measures, compared to what we see in Greece.

How long until this is downtown Lisbon?

On the other hand, Portugal is the title holder of the world’s largest “arroz de lapas”, so at least not everything's bad.

Rice is nice.

Getting divorced in Portugal Posted by Gabriel on 11:11 pm

Time for another free lesson* in Portuguese law! This round is on the hallowed institution of divorce, regulated by Articles 1773 to 1793 of the Portuguese Civil Code. Divorce is quite popular in Portugal. In 2009 alone there were 72 divorces a day, with 26,464 divorces against 40,391 marriages.

Can't say it's not original..

*Obligatory Disclaimer: This information contained in this post is provided "as is" and does not constitute legal advice. I make no claims, promises or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained in this post, and in no event shall I be liable for lost profits, or any special, incidental, or consequential damages arising out of or in connection with any information stated in this post.

Please note that in this post I will only cover amicable divorce, or divorce by mutual consent. Litigious divorce, or divorce without mutual consent, is much more complex, and much messier. Therefore, this is for the case where the spouses have decided that married life is not for them, and they both can agree on everything.

Not all divorces have to be like this.

A few conditions for the below to be applicable: no minors and the spouses can agree on all terms of the divorce.

First, an application is made in the name of both spouses to the civil registry of their area, or a civil registry expressly designated by them, clearly stating all relevant personal details. In a divorce by mutual consent, the spouses do not have to give the reason for their application, just that both are legally capable of applying for a divorce and that all relevant documentation is attached. The application is signed either by the spouses or by their representative.

The application is lodged with a certificate containing a full copy of the marriage record (including any prenuptial agreement, if one exists), a detailed list of the communal property, including their respective values, and an agreement on the disposal of the marital home. The divorce application has an associated fee of €250.00

In Portugal a standardized application does not exist for divorces.

After the application and attached documents are lodged, the registrar will schedule a meeting with the spouses in order to bring about reconciliation.

If the spouses still intend to divorce, and having checked that the prerequisites are met, the divorce is decreed and registered. The spouses do not have to show up for this as long as they issue power of attorney to their representative. However, the power of attorney has to be signed before a notary public.

Fifteen days after this date the divorce is considered final, and all personal documents can be updated to reflect the new civil status.

Contrary to popular belief, this is a legal impossibility in Portugal.

The whole process normally takes two months from start to finish, depending on the schedule of the registrar. From a bureaucratic point of view, the divorce process is one of the quicker processes in Portugal.

For the lighter side of divorce, feel free to visit this site for some divorce cakes, and this site on how to pick the right divorce cake for you.

Crunch-time, or, how has the global crisis affected you in Little Ol' Portugal? Posted by Gabriel on 10:14 pm

The excellent blog posts on Canadian music have made start re-listening to a few bands, particularly Rush (though unlike João, I've always been a true fan).

Their music reminds me of small towns in rural Canada slowly dying off and disappearing, with the “old” way of life fading away due to closing factories, children growing up and leaving with no one to replace them, attracted by the opportunities that the big cities provide.

 

Abandoned shopping mall in Wallaceburg

I grew up in a small industrial town, and I remember the so-called “golden days”, when work was plentiful, and the economy booming. But that didn’t last long. Factories moved first to the USA, and then to Mexico. In Wallaceburg, the loss of the Glass Factory was the biggest blow, and the town went downhill from there. I left in 1999, which was really the beginning of the end.

 

Picturesque Wallaceburg

I’ve visited my hometown a few times, the last being in 2006. It was a ghost town. No children on the streets, all the old stores boarded up, and the factories abandoned. Even remembering it now saddens me somewhat.

Unfortunately in Portugal the economy is also facing serious problems. Not the same decline as Canada faced, since Portugal was never very economically strong to begin with. However, the VAT is rising yet again. Income tax as well. Deductable expenses are going to be severely capped. The budget is under heavy discussion, and risks not being passed in parliament. The plentiful subsidies formerly given by the European Union have long dried up. Austerity measures are in full swing. Recession looms overhead.

The Euro won't stretch as far as it used to. Not only will goods and services be more expensive, but we'll be effectively earning less each month. For many it's going to be difficult to make ends meet.

How are you dealing with the current crisis? Cutting down on the ivory back-scratchers? Or is it life as usual?

Gabe

Announcement! Our Canadian, Luso-Canadian, Friends of Canada gathering is here! Posted by João on 6:53 pm

Alright, it's what everyone's been waiting for. After receiving some encouraging e-mails, we have decided that Saturday, Oct 23rd is the day we Canadians / Luso-Canadians / lovers of all things Canadian will gather.

We asked you and we asked ourselves: where would be a good place for such an encounter? For this first meeting we settled on Lisbon due to its centrality. But where in Lisbon could we have this? We don't have a Canadian eating or drinking establishment of any sorts in the capital. Our best solution: to meet halfway between continental Portugal and Canada by meeting at an Azorean establishment. We settled on Peter Café Sport at Praça das Nações.

So to sum it up:

WHEN: SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23rd, 2010 @ 17:00
WHERE: PETER CAFÉ SPORT, PRAÇA DAS NAÇÕES (EXPO), LISBON

We figure an afternoon start will give people a chance to meet, talk, drink, etc. and then if people are interested in going for dinner, we will do just that. Please be aware that this is not a Canadian only event so do bring your non-Canadian loved ones and/or campanions.

For any further information or just to let us know that you'll be there, drop João (jmssardinha@gmail.com) or Gabe (gbsampaio@gmail.com) an e-mail.

______________________________________________________________________________________

Lastly, we also let our friends at Portugal Friends know that we'd publicise their Lisbon ex-pat gathering which will take place October 26th @ 18:00 at the Quadrante, Centro Cultural de Belem.
For more info., you can check out their website: www. portugalfriends.com.

The “Injunção” Posted by Gabriel on 11:31 pm

Time for a little free legal lesson, this time concerning a very popular instrument used for debt collection, namely by services providers, known as the “injunção” (created by Decree-law 269/98, of 1st September).

An injunção is defined as a formal order to pay. It is a very simple, cheap, and quick way of getting a credit recognized. All the applicant/creditor has to do is fill out a simple form online, normally done by a lawyer, with a summary description of the debt. The application will only be sent to the debtor after the judicial fees are paid, which can be either €25.50 or €52.00 depending on the value of the debt. No proof of any kind is required at this time.

 

The (in)famous "Citius", birthplace for many an injunção

Though ff you’re the applicant, don’t think that the injunção is a magic bullet. If the debtor does not intend to pay they will oppose it, take it to court, and prolong the process as long as possible. However, in the majority of cases debtors do not contest an injunção (which is what any applicant hopes for).

 

Call a lawyer if you get one of these in the mail

The debtor has 15 days (consecutive, not working) in order to present a defense in writing or to pay the amount claimed.

If a defense is offered, a trial will be scheduled and both applicant and debtor must offer any legally admissible form of proof (witnesses, documents, etc.). Any defense can be offered, such as the debtor stating that he has already paid off his debt, or that he owes nothing due to creditor breach of contract.

Failing the production of a defense or voluntary payment, the “injunção” gains executive force, meaning it has exactly the same value as an unappealable judicial sentence, and is full irrefutable proof of the existence of that credit/debt. An injunção, from start to executive force, can take under two months.

With this document, the applicant can move for the court to seize the debtors property to make good on his debt, either by seizing cash directly (garnishing wages, apprehending bank accounts) or by selling the debtors property in auction (cars, houses, etc.). Note that in Portugal it is illegal for a creditor to gain property over a debtor’s asset by way of defaulting on a loan and/or payment. The debt can be made good from the proceeds of the sale of the asset, but never by the asset itself.

 

Something to break up the monotony

Unfortunately this next step (the “acção executive”) is a relatively slow, costly, and many times, unprofitable experience.

What to take away from the injunção? Use it if a debtor has yet to pay despite constant promises to do so. It’s cheap, fast, and effective. And as a debtor, always offer a written defense if an injunção is received, otherwise your situation will become significantly more complicated.

For example: I have a friend that recently received an envelope from the court, and promptly decided to ignore it. He wasn’t new to the debt scene, and had faced threatening letters from lawyers and debt collection agencies before. A few weeks pass and he receives another, and then another, this second one being quite bulky, though it also goes in the cupboard unopened. Out of sight, out of mind.

 

Good or bad, depending on your situation

A few weeks pass and he decides to show me the envelopes. I open them immediately. The first was the injunção application; the second is letter stating that due to no defense being offered the injunção has gained executive force. The bulky envelope was a court notice stating that his house had been apprehended by court decision and was going to be put up for sale, and he had 20 days to offer a defense.

I opened the envelope on the 27th day.

Funny, despite being such a simple figure in Portuguese law, I haven’t even touched the surface. And this must be a thoroughly boring post for 99% of you.

So this is Christmas... Posted by Gabriel on 10:15 pm

Oops, meant to write "Canada Day".

Well, tomorrow is Canada Day. This got me thinking of what I miss from Canada, and something that I miss is the lack of consideration given to pets here in Portugal. At least the impression that I get is that pets here are rarely considered part of the family. You see examples of this every year, families abandoning pets during the summer in order to go on vacation without any worries, hunters abandoning packs of dogs after the hunting season, etc.*

Since I’m still traveling a lot between Coimbra and Lisbon, I’ve been unable to adopt a pet. So in order to do my part I recently joined BIANCA, which is an association that helps abandoned animals. You can visit the site here (or the English version). A word of warning though, you’ll most likely cry after seeing the pictures (especially the “In memory of…” part).

The legal situation of pets in Portugal is actually quite interesting, in a sad sort of way. As you may or may not know, according to Portuguese law, pets are considered “res” - things, property, mere objects.

This leads to a very unfortunate lack of legal consequences for abuse and abandonment.
For example, if someone abandons his or her pet, there is no legal consequence. The property is theirs, they may do with it as they wish. It may constitute a violation of a municipal statute though, since it may be considered littering.

Killing or abusing your own pet also has no practical consequence, for the same reason. The same applies with killing or abusing abandoned animals. While they did have owners at one point, the act of abandonment constitutes the owners renunciation of the property right over the “res”, making it “res nullius”. Nobody’s property.

Killing another person’s pet is another matter, and is punishable both criminally and civilly. Criminally, the offender can be charged with “damages to a third party’s property”, which is punished by a fine or up to 3 years in jail.

Of course, the owner can sue for damages in civil court. With a lot of luck the indemnity awarded by the court just might cover legal costs. I haven’t had much luck finding case law on these situations, which isn’t very surprising considering they never go to appeals court. To be honest, I doubt they go to court at all.

Whoa.. quite the rant. Sorry.

Long story short, I suggest that you help out these associations, even if it’s just by offering a bag of dog food during their charity drives, usually held at the big shopping malls.

*Of course some Portuguese wise-guy will say “at least we don’t club baby seals to death!” 
To him I say, “touché”.

Encontro/Gathering Canadians, Luso-Canadians, former residents of Canada, etc Posted by Gabriel on 11:16 pm

Hello all, the following is from our beloved João Sardinha, he's currently in the process of contacting as many canucks as possible in order for us to organize some kind of shindig.

Dear Canadian and Luso-Canadian friends,

I'm João Sardinha and along with Gabriel Sampaio, we are trying to contact as many Canadians and Luso-Canadian people living in Portugal as we can. The reason for this is because we are interested in finding out to which extent people might be interested in doing a Canadian or Luso-Canadian get-together somewhere in this country.

We are also putting together a mailing list of as many Canadians,Luso-Canadians, former residents of Canada, etc., as we possibly can  so if you know others who fit the description, please pass this message on to them or send us their e-mail and we’ll do it for you.

So what we ask is would you be interested in joining us in a future get-together? If so, please let us know of your interest and we’ll keep you updated. Any recommendations, etc. are also welcome.

Lastly, Gabriel has set up a website "for Canucks in Tugaville" (his words) which you can find at http://www.canadiansinportugal.com/ It’s a great platform for all who may be interested in all things Canadian.

So with that, we thank you for your interest, remember to let other Canadians, Luso-Canadians, etc. know of this initiative, and hope to hear from you sometime soon.

Drop us an e-mail: João - jmssardinha@gmail.com / Gabriel - gbsampaio@gmail.com

Now in portuguese:

Caros amigos canadianos e luso-canadianos,

O meu nome é João Sardinha e junto com o Gabriel Sampaio estamos a tentar contactar o maior número de canadianos e luso-canadianos a viver em Portugal. A razão desta iniciativa deve-se ao nosso interesse em tentar discobrir quem teria interesse em realizar um encontro informal entre canadianos, luso-canadianos, simpatizantes do Canadá, etc. algures neste país.

Também estamos a tentar criar um lista de contactos de canadianos, luso-canadianos, antigos residentes no Canadá, etc. Por isso, se conhecerem outras pessoas que possam estar interessadas, pedimos o favor de lhes enviar este e-mail ou então envie-nos os e-mails deles e faremos nós o contacto.

Se tem interesse em juntar-se a nós para um encontro, de-nos a saber do seu interesse e no futuro teremos todo o gosto em mante-lo a par de futuras iniciativas. Quaisquer recomendações, sugestões, informações são também bem-vindas.

Por último, o Gabriel fundou um site 'para Canadianos em Tugaville'(palavras dele) que pode encontrar aqui: http://www.canadiansinportugal.com/ É uma exelente plataforma para todos interessados em tudo o que é canadiano.

Agradecemos o interesse. Não se esquçam de dar a conhecer esta iniciativa a outros canadianos, luso-canadianos, etc. Esperamos notícias vossas em breve.

Contacte-nos: João - jmssardinha@gmail.com / Gabriel - gbsampaio@gmail.com

Thanks a bunch João!

CBC Radio: The only decent radio station in Portugal? Posted by Gabriel on 10:45 pm

Whenever I feel that I am beginning to forget what a Canadian accent sounds like, or whenever I want to listen to an impartial, complete news report, I point my browser to the CBC Radio site and listen online.

The site is, of course http://www.cbc.ca/radio/

As expected, the site is very well organized. You can listen to the local radio station that you used to listen to in Canada (London, in my case), and you can even listen to past episodes of the different programs.

I was, and still am, a bit of a nerd. As a result, when I was younger and whenever I was home, I would have the radio tuned to CBC Radio Windsor or London frequency. Most Sunday nights I would fall asleep listening to the stories on "Between the Covers"(which unfortunately is now only available as a podcast), or would listen to "As it Happens" and "Quirks and Quarks" during the week.

The voices really stuck with me, mainly because they are full of personality. Listening to them actually provokes a twang of melancholy, since they remind me of simpler times…

It is a shame that radio is such an underrated medium. There is nothing better than being all cuddled up in bed on a cold winter's night eyes and listening to a familiar voice and an interesting story.

So, what is your favourite CBC Radio program?

All hail the Pope! Posted by Gabriel on 10:59 pm

Forgot to mention that the Pope (yeah, that evil looking fellow) will be visiting Portugal on the 11, 12, 13 and 14 of May, 2010. 

So if you are "Christian" and want to see the Pope (75% of Canadians are Christian, check out the 2001 Canadian Census results for yourself if you don't believe me), or even if you aren't Christian but still want a glimpse of the Popemobile, you can consult the Papal program here http://www.bentoxviportugal.pt/programa.asp

Yeah I know, the site is a bit frightening.

Interestingly enough, at a time in which Portuguese productivity is at an all time low, austerity measures are being put in place, and a global economic crisis looms ahead, the Portuguese government decided to allow public servants to take a day and a half off to see the Pope. Or go to the beach. 

This decision was criticized not only by employers, but also by union representatives

They insist that Portuguese holidays and government conceded leaves cost Portugal around 0,5 to 1% of its GDP per year.

The Portuguese leftist party, the "Left Block" (literal translation of Bloco de Esquerda, give me a little slack) said that this measure violates the Portuguese Constitution (the English version is available here if you're curious), mainly the principle of equality, the separation church and state, and freedom of religion and worship, as expressly stated in articles 13 and 41 of the Portuguese Constitution. 

Surprisingly enough, the Christian Association of Managers and Entrepreneurs (the ACEGE) supports the government's decision. Go figure.

Last day to hand in your tax statements! Posted by Gabriel on 1:15 pm

If you are living and working in Portugal, today (18/04/2010) is the last day to declare income tax on earnings from pensions or wages from dependant labour. You can do so online at http://www.portaldasfinancas.gov.pt/ You do need the password sent by Portuguese Revenue in order to log in.

Conversely, if your earnings come from other sources (for example, you are classified as an independent worker, meaning you receive your earnings by way of the infamous “recibos verdes”, or are declaring capital gains, property earnings, etc.), you have until the 28th of May to declare your income tax via the internet.

One word of warning though, if you do not hand in your tax files on time, you may be obliged to pay a fine that can go from €100.00 to €2,500.00. And that’s not all, be extra careful while filling out the forms, because mistakes or omissions can also cost you fines from €25.00 to €15,000.00. Ouch.

Calling all Portuguese-Canadians! (in Portugal) Posted by Gabriel on 10:44 pm

Second-generation Portuguese-Canadian Return Project

Last week I received an email from João Sardinha, Senior Researcher in the “Centro de Estudos das Migrações e das Relações Interculturais – CEMRI”, of the Universidade Aberta here in Lisbon, stating he wished to interview me, concerning having returned to my ancestral home land (Portugal) from Canada, for his study project.

We scheduled an interview for today, which we finished about two hours ago. I tried to answer all his questions to the best of my ability, and afterwards we talked about our experiences here in Portugal.

However, João is still looking for more individuals for his study. 

So if you are:

1. Portuguese-Canadian
2. currently living in Portugal
3. willing to share your return to Portugal story, as well as sharing some opinions about your life here and your life back in Canada
4. willing to help in the advancement of human kind
5. and more importantly, willing to help a fellow Portuguese-Canadian

Then send João an email at jmssardinha@gmail.com to arrange an interview. He will send you a question guide in advance, so you can prepare for the interview (don’t worry though; the interview is very stress-free and informal).

Aside from being a Senior Researcher in the CEMRI, João is also Portuguese-Canadian (from Prince George, BC) and a really nice guy to boot, so don’t hesitate to contact him, for the good of science!

A different kind of migration studies.

How it all started. Posted by Gabriel on 12:56 pm

Happy 2010!


Where was I? On yeah, in the year 2003 I decided to move to Portugal to study law.

My decision was not very well received by the members of my family (mainly my parents and aunts and uncles). They all told me that life in Portugal is very different from life in Canada. That if would be very difficult for me; not only because of the cultural differences but also because of the vast differences in infrastructures and development, and that I would eventually regret my decision. I did not help that my family members were all Portuguese immigrants, which left the country while it was still reeling from the effects of the April 25th revolution, at a time when the differences between the two countries were even greater.

Well, they were correct on everything, except the part about regretting my decision.

Of course financial reasons helped to motivate my decision, since studying law in Canada would have cost quite a bit (around 10,000 dollars), while in Portugal at the time the tuition was about 500 dollars. Housing and food costs were about equal. Nevertheless, the main attraction was the opportunity to experience a different culture...

By the way,
The judicial (and not only) holidays are officially over! However, by the slowness of the Portuguese legal system you would be pressed to tell the difference.

Do me a favour? Posted by Gabriel on 11:10 am

I am sure that anyone that follows the news here in Portugal knows that the country is rife with corruption scandals, involving all levels of the public and private sector.

Bribes, kickbacks, fraud and favours concerning politicians, public procurements, large corporations, and, well, almost everyone in a position of power, are coming to light. No wonder that Portuguese confidence in politicians is extremely low.

The Portuguese parliament recently approved anti-corruption measures (including harsh punishment of "illegal enrichment"). I hope that this is the start of a serious crackdown on corruption in this country, despite the many obstacles to change.

Of course, none of this addresses the issue of "minor" corruption that is highly prevalent in Portugal. When I say minor I mean the influence that friends and family members have on arranging cushy jobs for others. The examples are so numerous that I will not waste my time writing them down, but they are fairly easy to spot, you only have to look at the last names of the employees in many public offices, some even employ entire families...

It ends up being corruption all the same since it subverts legally established selection procedures, which exist in the case of vacancies for public offices (for example, positions in municipalities). On paper, candidates are valued based on objective methods, for example, a candidates résumé is evaluated and given a score out of 20, he is then subject to written exam, and afterwards an interview. Unfortunately, these methods end up being very subjective. The evaluation of a candidate’s résumé, the correction of exams, and the interview is not subject to any defined standard, and a potential candidate can be excluded or passed over by the whim of an assessor.

I can understand the basic motivation for this type of influence. Family members want the best for their sons/daughters/cousins/nephews,etc., friends want to help friends, and people want to concede favours that they can later reap. Regrettably, it ends up being prejudicial for the employer, clients and citizens, since the best people for the job are rarely chosen.

One even begins to wonder if anyone gets to where they are by their own merit, or if they are there thanks to a "friend of a friend". Maybe I am just a pessimist.

This type of corruption is so entrenched in Portuguese society that I doubt that legislative changes can affect it, especially since it is so hard to verify that anything illegal was done. I believe that the most important solution is tied with the creation and reinforcement of a true civil society, which in Portugal is still truly lacking...

On this subject I highly recommend the book "Corruption in Italy: a Structural Approach", by Paolo Ferrari, on the relationship between corruption and civil society.

On a more positive note, happy 101th birthday, Manoel de Oliveira! Here´s hoping for another 101!