Madrid, June 3, (dpa/GNA) – A one-day general strike against the conservative government’s planned labour market reforms, has severely disrupted life in Portugal.
The newspaper Correio da Manhã and other media outlets, reported that there were already massive disruptions across the country by mid-morning on Wednesday, particularly in the transport sector.
In Lisbon, the metro had been completely shut down since late Tuesday evening, whilst bus and rail services in the capital and other regions of the popular holiday destination were operating on an emergency basis in some cases. Very long queues formed at bus stops and taxi ranks in some places.
At Lisbon Airport, more than half of all flights were cancelled due to the strike, according to the operator ANA. At other airports across the country, the cancellation rate was reported to be an average of just over 40%.
In addition to transport, schools, universities, hospitals, waste collection and other public services are also affected. The CGTP trade union confederation spoke of “massive participation.” Labour Minister Maria do Rosário Ramalho, meanwhile, described participation in the general strike as “low.”
Prime Minister Luís Montenegro’s minority government is planning a reform of labour law that envisages more than 100 changes. The aim is to increase productivity and competitiveness, and to adapt to a world of work that is changing primarily due to digitalization.
The government insists that the reform will lead to more jobs and higher wages. The trade unions, however, warn that the planned changes will place a significant burden on workers and lead to the “normalization of precarious employment.” They say there will be wage cuts, more redundancies and more fixed-term contracts.
GNA