WORKING CONDITIONS OF JUDICIAL ACTORS IN PORTUGAL: CONSIDERATIONS FROM SOJ COMPLAINT TO THE ILO

Abstract

Discussing working conditions in the context of the recent economic and financial crisis is increasingly
important given the challenges of labour flexibilization and the precariousness of fundamental rights
at work. In this regard, the contribution of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) to the
improvement of working conditions through conventions and recommendations in its member
countries is highlighted. Working time, and in particular the implications of overtime work on work-life
balance, has been a concern of the ILO since 1919. Since then, the ILO has drawn attention to worktime-related socio-employment inequalities, seeing it as a fundamental dimension of decent work and
encouraging governments to formulate effective public policies to promote a decent working time.
This article seeks to observe the dissonance between the rights at work of judicial actors in Portugal
and what happens in practice with respect to working time. To this end, we analyse the results of the
interviews conducted under the QUALIS project, engaging them in dialogue with the rare studies that
address working conditions in Portuguese justice, considering the focus on excess workload and also
with the complaint lodged with the ILO by the Judicial Officials Union against the Portuguese
Government in 2019 for work performed outside the working time without the right to remuneration or
other compensation. These preliminary results seem to support the hypothesis that the ILO’s special
control system has a symbolic role related with the embarrassing effect on the State, which is an
important mean of claiming rights.
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