The Plenary is composed by the following members:
· The President;
· 8 representatives from the government;
· 8 representatives from trade union confederations;
· 8 representatives from employers associations;
· 2 representatives from the cooperative sector;
· 2 representatives from the National Science and Technology Council;
· 2 representatives of the liberal professionals;
· 1 representative from the state-owned enterprise sector;
· 4 representatives from the autonomous regions (Madeira and Azores);
· 8 representatives from local government;
· 1 representative from the national associations for environmental protection;
· 1 representative from the national associations for consumer protection;
· 2 representatives from solidarity and charity institutes;
· 1 representative from family associations;
· 1 representative from universities;
· 1 representative from associations of young entrepreneurs;
· 2 representatives from organisations representing family farming and the rural world;
· 1 representative from associations representing the field of equal opportunities for women and men;
· 1 representative from women's associations with generic representativeness;
· 1 representative from women's associations represented in the Advisory Board of the Commission for Citizenship and Gender Equality (CIG);
· 1 representative from organisations representing people with disabilities;
· 2 representatives from organisations representing the financial and insurance sector;
· 1 representative from organisations representing the tourism sector;
· 5 individuals of renowned merit.
The term of office of the council members runs concurrently with the legislative period of the Portuguese parliament and ends when new members take up office. Their appointment should take into account the relevance and importance of the interests represented. For each one of the sectors represented, there is the same number of alternates as full members represented on the council.
The President is one of the Council’s governing bodies and is appointed by the national parliament with a two thirds majority of the members of parliament present, as long as this is greater than the majority of MPs in office. His/her mandate corresponds to the legislative period of parliament and is renewable without limitations.
The Social Concertation Standing Committee is a tripartite body composed of 12 members. It is chaired by the prime minister, who can delegate this task to a minister, and consists of representatives from the government, from trade union confederations and from employers associations. Its membership is as follows:
· 4 representatives from the government (who are appointed by the prime minister)
· 4 representatives from trade union confederations (2 appointed by CGTP-IN - General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers and 2 appointed by UGT - General Union of workers);
· 4 representatives from employers associations (1 appointed by CAP - Portuguese Confederation of Farmers, 1 appointed by CCP - Confederation of Trade and Services of Portugal, 1 appointed by CIP - Business Confederation of Portugal and 1 appointed by CTP - Portuguese Confederation of Tourism).
The Specialised Standing Committee for Economic and Social Policy and the Specialised Standing Committee for Regional Development and Land Planning are made up of 4 representatives from the government, employer associations, trade unions and local government, 1 representative from each of the autonomous regions and 1 representative from each of the sectors represented at the plenary. They may also include 1 or 2 individuals of renowned merit.
The Coordinating Board is composed of the President and the four Vice-Presidents.