The strike notice was delivered by the National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof) last month and may affect activities such as additional student tuition and a variety of projects already underway with students.

The aim of the strike is for all activities that teachers carry out with student to be included in the teachers’ job descriptions and paid for accordingly.

The strike is expected to last until 15 December but will be extended if the ministry fails to meet the teachers’ demands.

Last weel the Portuguese National Teachers' Federation (Fenprof) and the Teachers' Trade Union Front (Frente Sindical de Docentes) called a total national strike for 15 November and called on teachers to protest at parliament on that day, when the Minister of Education is due to discuss the State Budget for the education sector.

In a statement, the Trade Union Front, made up of eight teachers' unions, said that the situation of teachers and educators will be made much worse by the new State Budget, as the period of service provided when career progression was frozen (9 years and 4 months) will not be counted when they are considered for promotion.