Brussels, according to a press release, today sent notification letters – the first stage of the infringement process – to 19 Member States, including Portugal, for not having communicated the complete transposition of the directive into national legislation, which they should have done by August 31.

The countries concerned now have two months to report to the Community executive on the transposition of the directive.

The directive (European law) in question aims to improve working conditions, by promoting more transparent and predictable employment, and at the same time guaranteeing the adaptability of the labour market, establishing minimum rights applicable to all workers in the EU who have an employment contract or other employment relationship defined in the legislation, collective agreements or practices in force in each Member State.

The new rules expand and update labour rights and protection for the 182 million workers in the EU - especially the two to three million in precarious employment situations -, providing that they have “the right to more predictability with regard to assignments and working time” as well as complete information on the place of work and remuneration.