The President of the Government urged employers' and trade unions' organisations to strengthen dialogue and concerted action in order to find solutions that will contribute to the success in the fight against precarious employment and improve workers' salaries in the Region.
 
"I want to launch a challenge, not only to each entrepreneur and worker but also to representative organisations such as Chambers of Commerce and trade unions, namely UGT (General Union of Workers) and CGTP/Açores (General Union of Workers/Azores). This call to the commitment of all parties involved is intended to create or reinforce the channels or spaces for dialogue and conciliation, especially in the tourism sector, that may lead to better salaries and the success in combating precarious employment in the Region," said Vasco Cordeiro.
 
The President of the Government spoke at the solemn session celebrating the Day of the Autonomous Region of the Azores, held in the municipality of Madalena, Pico island, where 38 Honorary Commendations were bestowed upon personalities and institutions.
 
"It is not enough for the Government that Azoreans have more jobs. The Government cannot satisfied with the mere creation of measures to support companies or workers and investment incentives or with the support to employability," said Vasco Cordeiro. Regarding these mattes, he recalled that the Azorean Government adopted a series of measures aimed at accomplishing this goal at the Extraordinary Council of the Government on Employment and Economy, held in late 2017.
 
However, this is a challenge that requires greater involvement and, above all, a commitment on the part of all parties involved so that, as a group, we may achieve the goal of having better employment in the Region.
 
In his speech, Vasco Cordeiro recalled that, during the crisis in regional tourism, entrepreneurs and workers were required to undertake an increased effort and even some sacrifices to ensure the survival of the regional tourism sector.
 
Today, we should also demand that everyone should benefit from this moment of affirmation, growth and prosperity. This is so for tourism, but must be so for other sectors of economic activity," stressed the President of the Government. According to him, it is now time "to address a challenge that has been growing in our economy and our society, which is the quality of employment."
 
At the solemn session, the President of the Government defended that the sustained development of tourism cannot be solely synonymous with record figures in terms of overnight stays, number of guests and revenue. In fact, it should also be visible in the improvement of working conditions, both in terms of salaries and in the stability of employment relations.
 
"I believe it is important to say that this effort does not have to involve the Government, at least in a first phase, but we are available and ready to participate should our intervention be requested," said the government official.
 
With regard to employment, Vasco Cordeiro mentioned that the Region reached 15 successive quarters with annual declines in the unemployment rate in the first quarter of 2018. Moreover, it has already entered the sixth consecutive quarter in the year-on-year increase of employed population.
 
"As for wealth generation in our Region, the official data for 2017, although provisional, evidence that the Azores surpassed, for the first time in their history, the four-billion Euro mark in terms of wealth generated in a single year," said the government official.
 
Concerning tourism, the President of the Government stressed that 2017 was the year when record highs were achieved, registering more than 2.3 million overnight stays and about 800 thousand guests. They are not only evidenced in these indicators but also in terms of income, with nearly 90 million Euros generated from this activity.
 
Vasco Cordeiro noted that the signs of recovery are not so intense in some areas of the regional economy, mentioning the cases of the price of milk paid to farmers and the income of fishers. Nevertheless, the President of the Government added that, more than being a reason of satisfaction, the path of growth we have followed is "a powerful incentive to correct what needs to be corrected, to improve what we already do well and to do what we still have to do."
 
Vasco Cordeiro also offered a special greeting to all those honoured at this ceremony. On the occasion, he recalled that Autonomy is celebrated on this day "because, in fact, it was and is, beyond the artificiality of rhetoric or quarrels, the political and institutional expression that, due to the creative tension of diverse perspectives and proposals has been able to respond to the legitimate ambitions of progress and development of the Azorean People."