So far the transport, hotel and catering sectors - which are among the most people employed - have been the most affected by the pandemic and, if the scenario continues, the country will have a problem on its hands. This is because Social Security does not designate any support or protection for workers in the event of contract suspension, and several people will lose their sources of income, writes Expansão.
"There's been a lot of talk about this situation, especially about those small and medium enterprises that don't have the capacity to withstand more than a month's wages without working," Manuel Viagem, secretary general of the National Workers' Union of Angola (UNTA), began explaining to the same newspaper.
He considered it "natural" that from next week, if the limitation of labour activity continues, some companies "can move towards the suspension of labour contracts. And the drama is that the state then has no solution for the workers".
Despite the negative scenario, companies are legally protected to do so: according to article 206 of the General Labour Law, companies may suspend contracts in the event of "circumstantial reasons, economic or technological reasons of temporary duration" or in situations of "calamity, accidents and other situations of force majeure". Even in a state of emergency, companies may suspend contracts, since the presidential decree only prohibits dismissals.
If companies decide to go ahead with the suspension, they will have to communicate it to the General Labour Inspectorate, indicating the reasons for doing so. However, they do not have to wait for the decision to be approved.