The Portuguese and Angolan governments have signed an agreement that allows workers from both countries to have their social and labor rights recognized, namely retirement, at the end of their contribution career.
The Portuguese Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, Ana Mendes Godinho, explained that the agreement aims to “ensure that Portuguese workers who are in Angola have the right to carry with them their rights to social protection, social security, and the same with Angolan workers who are in Portugal.
Ana Mendes Godinho participated in the 15th meeting of the Labor Ministers of the Community of Portuguese Speaking Countries (CPLP), in Benguela, and signed the agreement called “Benguela Commitment” with her Angolan counterpart, Teresa Rodrigues Dias.
According to the Portuguese Minister, the “historic agreement will allow the recognition and valorization of the social protection of workers, in order to recognize their rights, namely in terms of retirement.
Ana Mendes Godinho underlined that working people will have the guarantee that their contribution careers, in Portugal or in Angola, will be with them throughout their lives, “and that they will be able to retire in Portugal with the rights of the years worked here (in Angola) and also for Angolan workers to retire in Angola with the corresponding rights of the years worked in Portugal.
“We have in Portugal, at the moment, about 26,000 Angolan workers actively contributing to social security, so they are part of the system. With regard to Portuguese workers here in Angola, the estimate we have is of about 70,000 people who will potentially be covered, because it is the active population working in Angola,” she said.
Ana Mendes Godinho stressed that these numbers are only estimates, but the agreement will ensure “that many people who may not be covered today will have every interest in being part of the discounts here in Angola, because this will be accounted for throughout their entire contribution career.
“This agreement will cover all workers who have contributed to Social Security, whether in Portugal or in Angola. All the contributions made before this agreement comes into force will be covered”, Ana Mendes Godinho added, noting that it should come into force on January 1st, 2024.
The Minister also stressed the articulation and diplomatic work between the two ministerial departments of Portugal and Angola, which involves technical visits between the social security organizations of Portugal and Angola.
Regarding the CPLP meeting, Ana Mendes Godinho highlighted the presence of all Portuguese-speaking Labor Ministers, who recognized the importance of being able to mobilize all instruments so that the Mobility Agreement concluded within the CPLP guarantees workers’ rights.
