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Respect. (from the lat. respectu) n. 1. respect; 2. consideration; high regard; 3. deference; compliance; veneration; 4. honour; worship; 5. relation; refererence...
We believe that everyone should be respected for their work, for their attitudes, opinions and options.
Rigor. (from the lat. rigore) n. 1. harshness; strength; 2.fig., severity; punctuality; accuracy.
There is no "more or less levelled", "more or less upright”, "more or less clean" or "more or less safe", but rather “levelled”, "upright”, "clean” and “safe". The rigour is reflected in our procedures, in time and in the rules to follow. In the light of moral and principles, being severe means being rigorous.
Passion. (from the lat. passione) n. 1. intense and usually violent feeling (affection, joy, hate, etc.) which hinders the exercise of impartial logic; 2. derived from a feeling; 3. great predilection; 4. partiality; 5. great grief; immense suffering...
Under the sign of passion – a text of the Portuguese poet Regina Guimarães – is our icon. Passion is to reveal great enthusiasm for something, favourable encouragement or opposite to something.
It is the sensibility transmitted by an architect or engineer through work.
Passion is the dedication to a project. Passion is a state of warm soul.
Loyalty. (from the lat. legalitate) n. the quality of being loyal; fidelity; sincerity.
Respect for the principles and rules that guide the honour and probity. Faithfulness to commitments and agreements undertaken, staunch character.
To remain loyal to the business partners because we depend on them and they depend on us.
Being trustworthy for being loyal.
Solidarity. (from the lat. solidare) n. 1. the quality of being solidary; 2. reciprocal responsibility among the members of a group, namely social, professional, etc.; 3. sense of sharing another’s suffering.
Being solidary is being a friend, offering our hand with genuine generosity and bringing joy and human warmth to those who, somehow, are marginalized. Being solidary is being more human. A solidary company is recognized as a fair and non-selfish company. A solidary company is a preferred choice in business. It is a more competitive company. Volunteering is a vehicle to solidarity. It is modern, fair, cultured, friend, it is a noble gesture of moral elevation.
Courage. (from the lat. coraticum) n. 1. bravery facing danger; intrepidity; to have audacity; 2. moral force before a suffering or setback; 3. [fig.] to input energy when performing a difficult task; perseverance...
Courage is essential in our life. Courage to face less pleasant situations when complex issues come up, not expecting random resolutions.
It is a value that we must highlight as opposed to the fearful, cowardly and laziness.
The courage to react to criticism not with an attitude of demotivation or sadness, but rather to search for the means and the action to overcome its own reason. This kind of courage, which is also an intellectual courage, is highly recommended.
Ambition. (from the lat. ambitione) n. 1. vehement desire of wealth, honours or glories; 2. expectation about the future; aspiration; 3. lust; greed…
Vehement desire to achieve a particular goal. Ambition not to resign ourselves. Ambition to take the best potential from ourselves. Ambition to deserve ourselves. Ambition to be athletes in our top-level competitive jobs. Ambition to beat our brands. Ambition to get the best deals with the maximum value, due to the high levels of proficiency and efficiency.
Esthetics. ESTHETICS (from the Greek aisthetiké, "sensitive") n.f. 1. Philosophy branch of philosophy that studies the beauty and nature of artistic phenomena; 2. author's own style, time, etc.; 3. harmony of shapes and colors, beauty; 4. set of techniques and treatments that aim to beautify the body.
We decided to build the company's economic foundations under a cultured, cosmopolitan and cool image. Because it is a charming state of being. Good taste because we are sustainable and we respect the planet. Good taste because we are sensitive. Good taste just because.
Responsibility. (from the lat respondere) n. the trait of being answerable to someone for something or being responsible for one's conduct; a form of trustworthiness.
We must be certain that, before a choice, we chose what is best for both of us and not just the best for each one. Each employee is responsible for his negotiated activity and co-responsible if the co-worker does not fulfil his own task, thus preventing the common goal. A team is a set of individuals - is a whole. In the business game, as in social or family contexts, everyone must comply with their own relative position and we shall not permit that one of ours fails to be in our team.
Expresso
Difficulties with the legal and tax frameworks penalise industry projects to build worker residences.
From this year, the Government will require companies hiring migrant workers to provide decent housing for new foreign staff as part of the so-called ‘via verde’ (‘green route’) to granting immigration status.
The problem is that, to date, the construction of accommodation to house employees — from other regions of Portugal and abroad — is practically non-existent. Companies have no choice but to turn to properties available on the private rental market, pushing up prices for families who are also in need of accommodation.
According to experts contacted by Expresso, projects to build worker residences, particularly for industries such as tourism, still usually fail get beyond the planning stage, stalled by the difficulty of finding a legal and tax framework “advantageous” to companies, as well as the barriers to planning permission imposed by local authorities.
As far back as May 2023, the Minho Business Association (AEMinho) argued that one means of tackling the housing shortage and rising costs in the Braga region would be for companies to build worker accommodation with affordable rents, especially as consortiums.
Two years later, following “several meetings with companies to draw up a document” and “discussions with the current government Ministers of the Economy and Employment”, who were “very receptive”, the initiative “amounted to nothing”, explains Ramiro Brito, President of AEMinho. The same industry leader notes that the “current legal and tax framework” in the real estate sector makes it unviable for companies to pursue investments of this type.
Ramiro Brito reports that although the idea was well received by the Government, “there is a clear challenge in terms of the political will to change the tax system”, which is, as we know, “currently a great burden on residential construction”.
Business leaders in Minho back the construction of homes for workers with affordable rents
One of the business groups to back the idea was DST — Engenharia e Construção, headquartered in Braga. Speaking to Expresso, DST chairman José Teixeira stressed that the group currently “guarantees all displaced and migrant workers housing, whether in our own accommodation, rented properties or hotels”.
Meanwhile, the company is engaged in research that is “taking shape at the industrial campus”, and are testing “industrial” construction of housing which, according to José Teixeira, will include “modules for housing displaced and migrant workers”.
He believes that, “one measure that could bring 80 thousand or more beds spaces to market in a short space of time, would be the inclusion of clauses regarding the accommodation of displaced and migrant workers in the specifications of public works contracts”.
He added that this approach will soon be seen in a DST public sector project, which will include 100 bed spaces in private rooms with shared services” — a pilot project for a space that will be reused after works are completed.
Tourism is one sector in which the difficulty of sourcing accommodation has created major hiring issues in recent years, particularly in the Algarve region.
Against this backdrop, some new tourism developments still at the planning stage envisage the construction of dedicated worker accommodation buildings. However, according to Hélder Martins, president of the Algarve Hotel and Tourist Development Association (AHETA), the licensing of these buildings — intended for rental to employees — is becoming a “headache for hoteliers”.
According to the AHETA leader, local authorities are “making it difficult get permission for such buildings”, which would have to be “classified as residential developments”.
There are several instances where the progress of projects has been stalled by planning delays. This is the case of the Verdelago Resort, between Praia Verde and Altura, which developed a worker housing scheme, announced in June 2023.
The Sines area is attracting new businesses, becoming one of the regions with the greatest pressure on housing costs
The 80-bed so called “mini-resort for employees” in Castro Marim, scheduled for completion in summer 2024 is still at the “final stage of planning” and building work should begin “this year”, according to the developer.
Another of the examples cited is a project from the chain Alísios, in the village of Paderne, Albufeira, where the owner hopes to open a hotel with 50 apartments, but is awaiting approval for 10 further units for staff — preventing the new development from opening.
HOTELIERS DEMAND CLEAR RULES
Though he acknowledges that the situation in the Algarve is not as “dramatic” as it was two or three years ago, thanks to advance hiring and permanent contracts that make use of the off season for training, Hélder Martins reasserts the need to create “clear housing solutions” that resolve the problem in a sustainable manner.
Currently, many hotel chains in the region opt to set aside some of their guest bedrooms for staff or to buy/rent entire residential properties. “Some groups are spending a million euros a year on residential rents”, he stresses.
Recent investments in Sines — such as the Start Campus data centre and Repsol university in the industrial estate — have made this one of the regions of Portugal with the greatest pressure on housing, in particular rentals, with rents doubling in around two years.
According to Maria João Bernardo, sales manager at real estate firm Habita Alentejo, “every day, we receive phone calls and visits from companies looking for accommodation for their employees”. A large proportion of properties “don’t even make it to market”, being swallowed up by customers — most of them Spanish and Italian — who are on the waiting list for a house. We sign around four to six rental contracts per month”, she states. This is possible because demand has expanded into areas outside the town — such as Santo André and Santiago do Cacém, almost 40 minutes from Sines.
In a municipality with a shortage of housing, in particular new housing, available, the impact on prices is significant. Maria João Bernardo reveals that rents have doubled in the last two years: in 2023, properties let for around €600 to €700; the current rent for a one-bedroom flat is between €1200 and €1300, rising to €1400 to €1600 for a 2-bed.
Joana Gomes, Director General of property consultancy Habita, believes that in the cities of Lisbon and Porto, the majority of rentals to foreign workers are conducted through relocation companies, which subsequently enter into contracts with estate agents.