Portugal general strike stalls transport, closes schools in labour reform protest

By Sergio Goncalves

Train services ground to a halt across Portugal on Thursday, hundreds of flights were cancelled, and schools closed as unions launched a first general strike in more than a decade, in protest against proposed labour reforms.

The minority centre-right government says the proposed changes - amending more than 100 labour-code articles - aim to boost productivity and spur economic growth. But unions accuse it of tilting power toward employers at the expense of workers’ rights, despite a strong economy and low unemployment.

The bill, yet to be submitted to parliament, is expected to pass with backing from the far-right Chega party.

Some public transport operated due to minimum service requirements imposed by authorities, but Lisbon’s streets were noticeably quieter. While hospitals stayed open, most surgeries and appointments have been postponed as nursing staff walked out.

"We'll have a big general strike... Our appeal is for every worker to use this day as means to reject the labour reform," Tiago Oliveira, secretary-general of the umbrella union CGTP, told reporters at one of the picket lines.

Flag carrier TAP expected to operate only about a third of its roughly 260 daily flights to and from Portugal during the one-day action.

FIRST STRIKE SINCE BAILOUT ERA

Called by the largest unions CGTP and UGT, it is the first general strike since June 2013, when Portugal was under harsh austerity measures imposed by an international bailout that cut wages and lifted taxes.

The labour reforms envision easing just-cause dismissals in small- and medium-sized businesses and lifting limits on outsourcing. Other contentious measures include capping flexible-work rights for breastfeeding mothers at two years.

The government has refused to back down and insists the changes will increase productivity and ultimately benefit all Portuguese.

"The government respects the right to strike, it has been a government of dialogue... But it is a government with a reformist spirit and will not give up on being reformist and transformative," Prime Minister Luis Montenegro said on Wednesday.

Some of the people who still went to work on Thursday said they had little choice, even if they sympathised with the strike.

"I don't have a permanent contract. I can't go on strike," 32-year-old stationery store worker Joao Silva told Reuters.

"They want to fire older people so they can hire younger people and, obviously, with lower salaries... Why do (labour changes) always have to be in favour of company profits?" he said.