The UGT currently has about 430,000 affiliated workers, less 5,000 than four years ago, according to data from the trade union center. The reduction occurred amid internal reorganization and a new strategy of trade union activity.
© Lusa
11/10/2026
by
Lusa
A UGT currently has about 430,000 affiliated workers, less 5,000 than four years ago, according to the data provided to Lusa by official source of the trade union center.
According to the report of activities of the national secretariat, the UGT currently has 50 affiliated trade union associations (in 2022 there were 77), seven Federations and 20 Unions.
The strengthening of trade union activity is one of the priorities assumed by the trade union central in its programmatic resolution, which will be voted this morning on the second and last day of the 15th Congress of the UGT, which takes place in Figueira da Foz.
In the document, which defines the lines of action of the UGT in the most diverse aspects for the next four years (2026-2030), the trade union center undertakes to continue “to affirm an autonomous, independent, democratic, responsible and demanding unionism, capable of combining dialogue and negotiation with firmness in the defense of workers’ rights and interests”.
It therefore defends for this mandate “a unionism close to the workers, open to change and prepared to meet the challenges of the future”, considering that a trade union central “requires strong unions, dynamic territorial structures, prepared leaders” and union workers.
“ The generational renewal, the participation of young people, the strengthening of the presence of women, the valorization of managers and union leaders, the training of structures and the proximity to workplaces must be of increased importance ", adds.
According to the central trade union, it is also necessary “to continue to adapt the forms of communication and trade union organization to the new social and technological realities, preserving what constitutes the essence of unionism: proximity, solidarity and collective action”, he adds.
According to the latest data available from the Directorate-General for Coordination and Planning (DGCP, former GEP), the rate of trade unionization reached 7% in 2024, having retreated 0.2 percentage points compared to the previous year, with the sector of financial and insurance activities having the highest percentage of union workers (44.9 %).