Portugal Forestry Institute accused of cancelling employee performance evaluations and applying retroactive sanctions.

STFPSSRA, the trade union representing public and social sector workers in southern Portugal and autonomous regions, harshly criticized the IFCN, the official body responsible for the country's forestry and nature conservation policies, in a written statement released on Friday. The statement, signed by union official Nelson Pereira, alleged that the IFCN administration violated the rights of employees in a direct and serious manner and made decisions that disrupt the workplace peace. At the heart of the issue lies the arbitrary alteration of the performance evaluation process, which directly affects employees' career ladders and financial gains. The focus of the complaints is on a series of administrative decisions recently taken by the institution that cast uncertainty on the future of the existing workforce.

According to the current situation, the IFCN has decided to completely cancel the two-year performance evaluation process covering 2023 and 2024. Not limited to this decision, the institution has also taken the path of not conducting the performance evaluations planned for 2025 at all. This situation implies the freezing of employees' professional development and seniority year claims, creating great disappointment within the institution. The union views these steps as an attempt to lock employees' current statuses and hinder their progress. The changes are interpreted as bypassing bureaucratic procedures and directly interfering with legal and financial rights.

The biggest point of contention is that while the IFCN is cancelling today's performance evaluations, it is trying to offer compensation by retroactively applying rules. The institution has declared that by removing the evaluations for the 2023/2024 period, data belonging to the 2021/2022 period will be used instead. Union leaders qualify this approach as ignoring the effort and service the current staff have shown in the last two years. The use of retroactive data is unacceptable as a fair reflection because it does not reflect the performance of today's workforce. Although employees are identified with their pasts, this situation results in their recent efforts being counted as zero.

In the official statement signed by Nelson Pereira, it was stated that these practices are not merely a bureaucratic error but carry the intention of openly causing harm to employees. The decisions taken by the IFCN are described as a severe violation of rights as they lead to financial and status losses for employees. The union is of the opinion that due to the institution changing evaluation criteria and using retroactive grades, all positive steps in favor of employees have ceased. The freezing of performance evaluations causes employees to suffer in vital matters such as seniority and promotion. This forms the basis for the union to accuse the institution management of 'causing direct and severe harm'.

Public sector employees in Portugal have been displaying an extremely sensitive attitude regarding the protection of their personal rights under the shadow of increasing economic difficulties recently. It is predicted that this move by the IFCN will cause serious problems not only in terms of concrete financial losses but also regarding employee motivation and trust in the institution. The union's harsh statement could be a harbinger of a more tense process between the institution management and representatives in the coming days. STFPSSRA states that negotiation paths are not closed to prevent rights loss, but makes it clear that the current attitude is 'detrimental' in nature. Employees demand the correction of these contradictory practices extending from the past to the present and that they receive the evaluations they deserve.