Many schools closed on Friday in Portugal, while hospitals and courts remained closed due to a day of national strike by civil servants, who are demanding better working conditions and higher salaries. The strikers, in particular, are demanding higher wages.”At least 15%, with a minimum of €150 per employeeCoordinator of the Common Front of Public Administration Unions, Sebastião Santana, explained to Lusa News Agency. The unions said a demonstration planned for the afternoon could bring together thousands of demonstrators in front of the Ministry of Finance.
The social movement that took place on Thursday is the largest yet faced by the new moderate right-wing government, which took power after the legislative elections that took place in early March and ended eight years of socialist power. Teachers and law enforcement officials were already among the most mobilized professional groups, and Prime Minister Luis Montenegro pledged during the campaign to launch discussions aimed at responding to their demands. “Negotiations have made progress, but we are still far from talking about an agreement», appreciates Mario Nogueira, President of the main teaching union, Finprov.
Discussions with the police also proved difficult, with police and gendarmerie representatives considering the government's proposals so far insufficient. The new executive inherited a fiscal position marked by a historic general surplus of 1.2% of GDP in 2023, but immediately warned of a deterioration in public accounts. “We emerged from a surplus of €1.2 billion in January” to “With a deficit of approximately 600 million euros» In March, Finance Minister Joaquim Miranda Sarmiento announced in early May.
