At a news conference in Guimarães, the coordinator of the federation’s national leadership, Isabel Tavares, issued what she said was a “serious warning” to Portugal’s Socialist government and company bosses that unions would “resort to all forms of struggle to … reject any initiative that aims further attacks on the rights of workers and on work with rights.”

According to Tavares, negotiations between unions and employers in the sector are “blocked” and there has even been some “backtracking” on the latter’s part, in the form of “proposals to withdraw rights”. The “most problematic” issue, though, she said, is salaries.

Employers, Tavares said, "do not want to go beyond the national minimum salary or amounts very close to that" in setting workers’ salaries. As a result, the current level of the legal minimum (€550 a month since 1 January) is an issue for the unions, along with poor workplace conditions and unregulated working hours.

FESETE also represents workers in the wool, clothing, footwear and leatherworking sectors.