Nine ordinances extend collective bargaining agreements to more companies and sectors

The Government has expanded, through nine extension ordinances, the scope of application of collective labor agreements and contracts to employers and workers in entire sectors that were not covered by negotiating instruments. The diplomas, signed by the Adjunct Secretary of State for Labor, Adriano Rafael Sousa Moreira, on August 18, 2026, were published in the Diário da República, 1st series, no. 165, of August 26, 2026.

Ordinances no. 385/2026/1 to no. 393/2026/1 extend the working conditions established in collective agreements to workers not affiliated with the granting unions, standardizing salaries and minimum conditions on the mainland. The measure is based on Article 514 and paragraph 1 of Article 516 of the Labor Code, on the Council of Ministers Resolution no. 82/2017, of June 9, and on the competence delegated by Order no. 9158/2025, of the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security.

Sectors and companies covered

The extensions cover activities as diverse as insurance, food distribution, food industry, water, freight forwarders, driving schools, and tanneries:

• Companhia de Seguros Allianz Portugal, SA and others, with STAS (Ordinance no. 385/2026/1);
• ANCIPA with SETAAB, in the potato chip and snack industries (no. 386/2026/1) and fruit and vegetable industries (no. 388/2026/1);
• APED with SITESE, in distribution (no. 387/2026/1);
• APAT with SIMAMEVIP, in freight forwarding (no. 389/2026/1);
• Águas do Norte, SA with SIEAP (no. 390/2026/1) and with STAL (no. 393/2026/1);
• APEC with FECTRANS, in driving schools (no. 391/2026/1);
• Portuguese Association of Tannery Industrials with FESETE (no. 392/2026/1).

Salary impact and workers covered

Evaluation studies, based on the 2024 single report, quantify the reach of the extensions. In the distribution sector, APED covers 108,865 employees, of whom 69.6% receive remuneration lower than the conventional rates, with an increase of 1.1% in the total payroll. At Allianz, the average update of the salary scale is 3.03%, the meal allowance 2.82%, and childcare and school support 5.7%. In the Águas do Norte companies, the study points to 3,410 workers, with an increase of 5.6% in the overall average payroll.

The salary tables and pecuniary clauses have retroactive effects, starting from January 1, April 1, or May 1, 2026, depending on the agreement. The ordinances enter into force on the fifth day after publication and apply only to the territory of mainland Portugal, as the extension in the Autonomous Regions is the responsibility of the respective Regional Governments.

Oppositions and exclusions

In two cases, the FESAHT — Federation of Unions of Agriculture, Food, Beverages, Hospitality and Tourism of Portugal filed an opposition to the projects, invoking freedom of affiliation and collective bargaining autonomy. Under Article 515 of the Labor Code, the extension only applies to employment relationships not regulated by a bargaining instrument, whereby workers affiliated with unions represented by FESAHT were excluded from the scope of ordinances no. 386/2026/1 and no. 387/2026/1. In the distribution, exclusions remain for workers affiliated with the CESP and unions represented by the FEPCES.

Relevance for readers

With these extensions, thousands of workers from companies not affiliated with employers’ associations will now benefit from minimum wages and conditions identical to those of unionized colleagues, reducing inequalities and aligning competition conditions between companies in the same sector. For employers, the effect is to standardize labor costs within the same branch of activity, a move that the Government justifies as promoting social cohesion and equality.

Source: Diário da República, 1st series, no. 165, of August 26, 2026 (extension ordinances no. 385/2026/1 to no. 393/2026/1).