"It is the fulfillment of a promise from this Government in a time that I think was very fast. In about a month, we were able to, in an intense negotiation process in which there was, on the part of the Government and the representatives of the teachers, an effort to get closer", said Fernando Alexandre.

The minister was speaking to journalists at the end of the third negotiation meeting to define the terms of the recovery of the six years, six months and 23 days and before receiving the National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof).

The proposal presented today by the ministry -- which provides for the recovery of service time at an annual average of 25% between 2024 and 2027 -- was accepted by the National Federation of Education (FNE), FENEI, SIPE, FEPECI, SPLIU, SNPL, and SIPPEB.

The Government had started the negotiations proposing the accounting of service time at an annual average of 20%, with the most recent proposal, presented a week ago, providing for the return of 50% in the first two years, but maintaining the five-year period initially proposed, with the accounting of 20% in 2026 and 15% in 2027 and 2028.

"It shows the Government's effort to get closer to the demands, to what are the concerns of the sector, but we also found, in many unions, this willingness to solve a problem that was very old and that brought great instability to our schools and that, until now, no Government had shown willingness to solve", stressed the minister.

The measure will cover about 100 thousand teachers and, from 2027, when the entire six years, six months and 23 days have been returned, it will have an annual cost to the State of 300 million euros, as the executive had already estimated.

Despite the demands of the teachers, the Ministry maintained the position that the recovery of service time would only serve for the purposes of career progression, with no compensation mechanisms planned for teachers who are already at the top of their career or who will retire in the meantime.

This was Fenprof's main line and when asked about his expectations for the last meeting of the day, with the trade union federation, the minister said that "it was never part of the solution".

"(Fenprof) has a very own agenda and I confess that in many discussions, many times, I have doubts that education is its great concern and even the teachers", he accused, considering that the trade union organization systematically raises obstacles and that this is "one of the reasons why many of the problems drag on".

Fernando Alexandre also said that the closing of the first negotiation process is the "beginning of a process". "To do what needs to be done -- and there is much to be done -- it was necessary to solve this problem that for a long time left many teachers dissatisfied", he defended.

Earlier in the afternoon, the secretary-general of the FNE had already considered that the agreement reached marks "a historic day for teachers".

Representing the five unions that participated in the second meeting, in which all signed the agreement, the president of SIPE, Júlia Azevedo, highlighted the "victory of all, including the public school".

The union leader also stressed that the Government gave the guarantee of recovering the service time in two years and ten months "without losing a single day".

On the other hand, among the organizations that refused the ministry's proposal, the president of Pró-Ordem, Filipe do Paulo, the president of ASPL, Fátima Ferreira and the president of SEPLEU, Pedro Gil, explained that there was no understanding with the Government.

Representing four, Filipe do Paulo stressed that the minister "insists on refusing this entire group of teachers" and that "it is a lack of political will" on the part of the ministry, referring to those who are already at the top of their career.

In turn, the national coordinator of Stop, André Pestana, said that the union regrets that "there is still no safeguard for the recovery of all service time", namely that of teachers at the end of their careers and those between the 8th and 10th echelons.

"Stop does not abandon, nor forget, all these thousands of teachers", he defended, adding that the union will request supplementary negotiation.

[News updated at 9:37 pm]

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