ABSTRACT
This chapter highlights the positive developments and problems encountered in the making of such a multilevel system of representation, an essential building block of governance in the European Union. Trade Unionism became more active in the early 1990s; nevertheless, it declined after 1993. The main problem of Portuguese trade unionism was probably its ideological division. The Agreement on Strategic Concertation 1996/99 included a package of measures to reform the state, economy, and the labor market. In the 1990s, the continuing fragility of the labor movement as well as the labor market did not help to change the overall situation of workers. This may account for the fact that the Portuguese labor movement is still far from moving towards a multilevel strategy comprising the national, subnational, and transnational levels. In spite of all that, Portuguese trade unionism has at least achieved integration into European trade unionism; the only remaining problem is to adjust old strategies to this new, vibrant reality.
