Lisbon, Portugal. A second general strike in six months disrupted services across Portugal on Wednesday, halting trains, cancelling hundreds of flights and closing schools as unions protested against the government’s labour reform plans. Portugal’s minority centre-right government is expected to pass the bill with support from the far-right Chega party after talks with unions collapsed.
Union objections to labour reform
Tiago Oliveira, head of Portugal’s largest umbrella union CGTP, which called the general strike, told Reuters the reform would worsen workers’ conditions by entrenching precarious employment, deregulating working hours, easing dismissals and curbing strike rights and parental protections.
Rodrigo Azevedo, a 30-year-old bank employee, said the reform would leave young workers “stuck on precarious contracts for life,” forcing them to work 50 hours a week without extra pay instead of the current standard 40 hours, while making it easier to dismiss and replace them with cheaper outsourced labour.
“The labor package is a major threat not just to the future of young workers, but to our present,” he said.
Widespread service disruption
State-owned railway CP suspended long-distance trains and most regional trains, while Lisbon’s metro shut.
Schools closed nationwide due to staff shortages, and hospitals postponed most surgeries and appointments following a nursing walkout.
Portugal’s flag carrier TAP said it would operate just 79 of its usual more than 300 daily flights on Wednesday, while Iberia expected reductions of between 50% and 75%.
Proposed legal changes
The bill proposes changes to more than 100 articles of the labour code and is intended to boost productivity and spur growth.
The reform envisions making just-cause dismissals easier, allowing companies to deny workers reinstatement in cases of illegal dismissal provided they pay compensation, and lifting limits on outsourcing.
Recent strike action
An earlier strike in December was the first general shutdown in Portugal since protests against austerity in 2013.
