Las strikes and demonstrations have marked the first months of the year in Portugal and have put in embarrassment for the government Antonio Costa. Some strikes that especially affect the public sector, with strikes in education, health and rail transport, among others. The loss of purchasing power due to the rise in inflation is the main reason for the protests, which have intensified in recent days with actions such as the general strike of public workers on March 17 or the demonstration called the following day, that gathered thousands of people in the streets of Lisbon to protest against the rising cost of living.
Discontent has reached levels not seen since the troika years, in which workers suffered major cuts in their working conditions. On this occasion they have been insufficient wage increases, according to the unions, which has led to the demonstrations. The Portuguese Government agreed to an increase of 52 euros per month for the salaries of civil servants of up to 2,600 euros gross and an 8% increase in the minimum remuneration, up to 761 euros, which represents a average rise of 3.6% for all public workers in 2023. The average inflation rate in 2022 was 8.1%, according to Eurostat.
insufficient measures
The country’s main union, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), has accused the government of impoverish public employees under the excuse of maintaining budget balance, one of the main priorities of the Executive. “In 2022, Portugal’s economic growth has been 6.7%, exports have increased and every day we have announcements of record numbers from large companies in the financial and energy sectors. But paradoxically, the vast majority of the population has seen their conditions degraded lives”, they denounce from the union.
For the CGTP, it is urgent increase in the minimum wage up to 850 euros per month -currently it stands at 760 euros- and an increase in all remunerations of at least 100 euros per month. Other measures such as the pricing of basic products and the application of a special tax on the profits of large companies, beyond the energy and distribution sectors, are also part of their demands. “Not only is it possible, but it is fundamental and necessary to maintain the purchasing power of workers to achieve the development of the country,” a union representative told this outlet.
high inflation
The rate of Inflation in February stood at 8.2%, a slight setback compared to the previous month, which registered 8.4%. Even so, consumer prices remain well above those registered last year, especially in the food sector, where there have been increases of 20%, according to the National Institute of Statistics. To the rise in prices must be added the delicate housing situation, with exorbitant prices in the rental market in big cities and with mortgage loan rates that are strangling families. The presentation of a housing plan by the Government, which provides for the incorporation of tens of thousands of empty properties to the market, has not alleviated the protests.
Several citizen platforms have taken to the streets of Lisbon in recent weeks to demand more forceful measures from the Executive. Among them the Just Life movement, which brought together thousands of people in the Portuguese capital at the end of February, and the Coalition for European Action, which plans mobilizations for the right to housing at the end of this March. Some mobilizations that are added to those scheduled this month by doctors, teachers and train drivers of the state train company, Comboios de Portugal, which have practically paralyzed the service throughout the country in recent weeks.
Absolute majority
Despite the efforts of the Portuguese Government to value wages, through an income agreement signed in October last year, the CGTP union considers that the vast majority of the Socialist Party in Parliament makes it difficult to negotiate with workers and could cause the maintenance of a situation of blockade in the coming months, with more mobilizations and new calls for strikes. “Absolute majorities are not friends of workers’ rights,” they say from the union. Everything points to that the pulse with the Government will be maintainedas well as the mobilizations in the main cities of the country.