General strike shuts down Portugal

Protest in Setúbal (Pic: siesisindicato on Facebook)

Hundreds of thousands of workers joined a general strike across Portugal on Thursday in a day of protests against a brutal new employment law.

The new law will increase job insecurity, deregulate working hours and parental leave, and make it easier for bosses to sack workers. It will allow fire and rehire practices that are currently banned and remove guaranteed rehire in cases of unfair dismissal.

The conservative prime minister, Luis Montenegro, hopes to push through the bill with the backing of liberals and the far right Chega party.

The general strike was called by the CGTP and UGT trade union federations. They announced that at least three million workers were involved in the action. 

Transport was shut down across the country, with trains running only a skeleton circuit and hundreds of flights cancelled. Schools were closed and hospitals ran only essential services.

Sofia, a healthcare worker, told Socialist Worker she took part in the strike because she is “firmly against the new employment law.”

“But I think people are generally not happy with the way this country is going”, she said. We are losing purchasing power and having worse public services.

“I do worry about the country my daughter will live in.”

Striking teacher Sandra told Socialist Worker, “The new employment law will take workers back to 19th century working conditions.

“In Portugal the monthly cost of living is twice the minimum salary and with these new policies it will only get worse. Many people need two jobs to survive and with this new law I am afraid even that won’t be enough.

“The prices are absurd and most people’s whole salaries go straight to mortgages or rent.

“People work long hours without making enough money to pay for housing, food and essential needs.”

She added, “There’s an imbalance between work and family time, with work always winning over family and personal time”

Thousands took to the streets of Lisbon in opposition to the law, clashing with riot police sent to suppress them well into Thursday evening.

The government has tried to downplay the impact of the strike. But CGTP general secretary Tiago Oliveira said, “The government is only trying to minimise the impact of the strike to continue to push its political agenda, but the workers will certainly resist.”

Public sector strikes continued into Friday. Members of the Independent Union of Public and Social Support Workers shut nearly every university in the country. Though fighting against the bill, strikers are also demanding hazard pay, secure pensions and a meal allowance.

The right was the big winner in the Portuguese general election last May. The two main left parties were reduced to four seats out of 230 in the parliament. They had propped up previous governments led by the Labour-type PS.

But the general strike shows that working class people can resist—and that real hope lies outside parliament.

As Sandra says, “the new employment law proposal has made people wake up. We live in society and we should fight for better conditions for everyone.”