In an intervention that marked the end of the protest promoted by the union central, which brought together more than 2,000 people in a march that left Cais do Sodré towards Praça dos Restauradores, in Lisbon, Tiago Oliveira also demanded an end to precariousness, a reduction in working hours working hours to 35 hours and the end of deregulation of timetables such as time banks and adaptabilities.

In the ten-page speech, the CGTP general secretary also demanded the reinstatement of the right to collective bargaining, with the revocation of its expiry, as well as investment in public services, in the social functions of the State, in the National Health Service, in schools public policy, Social Security, justice and the appreciation of workers.

Regarding the State Budget (OE) for 2025, Tiago Oliveira said that approving it on the 29th of this month will mean “a real attack on the achievements of April and a profound setback in workers’ rights”.

“We will intensify the protest action and the struggle, in companies and on the streets, in opposition to the policy that is in the OE and that will come beyond it. And, on November 29th, the day of the OE vote, we will take a stand, by continuing to give strength to the problems of the majority, which are the workers and the people”, said Tiago Oliveira.

At the beginning of the demonstration in Lisbon, the leader of the trade union central lamented that the Government does not understand the difficulty of the vast majority of the population in reaching the end of the month and having to choose between paying for their house or putting food on the table.

“The fundamental issue is that 850 thousand workers, notably in relation to the national minimum wage, earn not 820 euros, but 730 euros. It would be good for the Government to explain to these Portuguese people what difference 50 euros will make in their living conditions”, he stressed.

In the demands list, the CGTP demands a salary increase of at least 15%, at least 150 euros for all workers from January next year, as well as an increase in the national minimum wage from the current 820 euros to 1,000 euros.

Note that the agreement signed as part of Social Concertation between the UGT, the four business confederations and the Government, foresees that the national minimum wage will rise to 870 euros in 2025. CGTP was left out of the agreement.