The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP) announced the action during Labour Day celebrations at the beginning of the month, when it set a series of strikes, demonstrations and gatherings as a means to regain lost workers’ rights.
At the centre of the CGTP’s grievances is the fact that timetables for civil servants remain at 40-hours-a-week, and it has called for the immediate return to 35 hours, and not as from 1 July as promised by the government. The Confederation is also insisting any victory on this front also be passed on to the private sector workforce.
The government had earlier this year pledged to cut workers’ hours, but said they first had to address shortages in services that such a move would provoke on the public sector, especially as it has seen its numbers pruned by tens of thousands of workers following demands imposed by the bailout Troika.