This The first months of the year were marked by strikes and demonstrations. Portugal and I put shame for the government Antonio Costa. Some strikes, particularly affecting the public sector, strikes in education, health and rail transport, among others. The main reason for the protests, which have intensified with actions such as the general strike of the public workers on March 17 or the demonstrations called the next day, and which have brought thousands of people together, is the loss of purchasing power due to the rise in inflation. people on the streets of Lisbon to protest increased cost of living.
The discontent reached proportions not seen since the years of the troika, when workers suffered massive cuts in their working conditions. On this occasion they insufficient wage increase, according to the unions that led to the demonstrations. The Portuguese Government agreed to an increase in civil servant salaries of 52 euros per month up to 2,600 euros gross and an 8% increase in the minimum wage up to 761 euros; an average increase of 3.6% for all civil servants According to Eurostat, the average inflation rate in 2022 was 8.1%.
insufficient measures
The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), the country’s main union, Impoverishing public employees under the pretext of maintaining budget balanceone of the main priorities of the executive. “In 2022 Portugal’s economic growth was 6.7%, exports increased, and we get record numbers of statements every day from big companies in the finance and energy sectors. But paradoxically, the vast majority of the population saw their conditions worsening lives,” the union denies.
Urgent for CGTP raise the minimum wage up to 850 euros per month -currently €760- and an increase of at least €100 per month on all fees. Other measures beyond the energy and distribution sectors are also part of their demands, such as pricing core products and imposing a special tax on the earnings of large corporations. “Maintaining the purchasing power of workers is not only possible, but essential and necessary to ensure the development of the country,” a union representative told this outlet.
high inflation
rate Inflation fell slightly to 8.2% in February Compared to the previous month of 8.4%. However, according to the National Institute of Statistics, consumer prices, especially in the food sector, with increases of 20%, are well above the prices recorded last year. It should be added to the increase in prices: sensitive housing situation, with exorbitant prices in the rental market in big cities and mortgage rates suffocating families. The government’s submission of a housing plan that envisioned placing tens of thousands of vacant properties did not quell the protests.
In recent weeks, several citizen platforms have taken to the streets of Lisbon to demand stronger measures from the Executive. These include the Just Life movement, which brought together thousands of people in the Portuguese capital at the end of February, and the European Coalition for Action, which is planning a mobilization for the right to housing later this March. Some mobilizations by doctors, teachers and drivers of the state train company Comboios de Portugal added to the mobilizations planned this month, effectively paralyzing service across the country in recent weeks.
Absolute majority
Despite the Portuguese Government’s efforts to value salaries through an income agreement signed in October last year, the union CGTP believes the vast majority of the Socialist Party in Parliament has made it difficult to negotiate with workers and could lead to a situation being sustained. blockade with calls for further mobilization and new strikes in the coming months. “The absolute majority is not a friend of workers’ rights,” they say of the union. everything points to this The pulse of the government will be heldas well as mobilizations in the main cities of the country.