PORTUGAL: Portuguese workers on general strike to protest austerity measures cause disruption to public transport.

Record ID: 340695

  • Title: PORTUGAL: Portuguese workers on general strike to protest austerity measures cause disruption to public transport.
  • Date: 23rd March 2012
  • Summary: LISBON, PORTUGAL (MARCH 22, 2012) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF SUNRISE OVER SKYLINE CACILHAS BUS TERMINAL WITH PEOPLE WAITING FOR BUS BUS (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) WORKER AT PHARMACY UNIVERSITY, LUISA, SAYING: "I don't think it (the strike) will change anything. The country is in a crisis. Ok we have to do something, but I don't think it will change things." BANNER READING (
  • Embargoed: 7th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Portugal, Portugal
  • Country: Portugal
  • Topics: European Union,Economy,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVA9LKL038VE13KIZZZPAO103K61
  • Story Text: Portuguese workers halted trains, shut ports and paralysed most public transport in the capital Lisbon on Thursday (March 22) in protest at austerity measures and labour reforms imposed as a condition of a 78-billion-euro bailout.
    "Occupy the streets, block everything" is one of the slogans adopted by the workers, who say the reforms turn the clock back on employment rights, ramp up joblessness and erode living standards.
    Portugal's largest union, the CGTP, aims to bring the country to a standstill, but the Portuguese have so far shown little interest in imitating the kind of protests seen in Greece.
    One woman waiting for a bus early on Thursday doubted the strike would have much impact in changing the status quo.
    "I don't think it (strike) will change anything. The country is in a crisis. Ok we have to do something, but I don't think it will change things," Luisa said.
    Portugal, facing its worst recession since the 1970s, was forced to take a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund in May last year after running up large debts.
    Some economists say it might need a second bailout as the recession deepens, putting its budget targets in doubt and jeopardising its planned return to the bond markets late next year.
    Strike organisers said the country's railway transport was paralysed, including the international Lisbon-Madrid route.
    Lisbon's underground was shut at midnight. Many hospitals were only accepting emergencies.
    However the airport was operating normally with no disruptions reported.
    The centre-right government is betting that relative public apathy will help it impose painful spending cuts and policy reforms to drag the country out of its debt crisis.
    The UGT, which is allied to the opposition Socialist Party, has urged opponents of austerity to show restraint, warning that Portugal could descend into the kind of chaos seen in Greece.
    But the CGTP's new Communist leader, Armenio Carlos, is eager to fight the measures.
    He said on Thursday the strike was "a decision by all workers who are today giving a great lesson about dignity, great courage, defending their rights, but also assuming a future proposal for this country that is what this government is now denying us, the future of this country."
    The strikers say the new labour laws, which make it easier to hire and fire staff and which cut compensation for workers, mark the biggest step backwards for workers since Portugal's return to democracy in 1974 after military rule.
    "We always hope that strikes will have an impact. It is not our aim to stop all the trains from circulating. Our aim is to show our indignation and our discontent for the politics adopted by the government, and the aggressiveness affecting us due to the measures of the government. That's why we are on strike," said Mario Gomes, a train worker on strike.
    With public transport shut down or running skeleton services, the main impact of the strike could be in stopping people getting to work.
    A commuter at one of Lisbon's main train stations said she was frustrated to have her journeys disrupted by strikes time and time again.
    "All people have the right to go on strike, but it is also necessary to think about how the strike affects all the rest of the people, isn't it? I've lost count of how many times CP (Trains of Portugal) have gone on strike. I think that every time CP goes on strike, the nation comes to a halt, and we have to think of these things. We are undergoing an economic crisis. We have to think about these things," said Ana.
    Posters urging workers to join the strike have been put up around Lisbon, and big protest marches are planned for Thursday afternoon.
    This year's harsh economic downturn has pushed unemployment above 14 percent, and the government expects the economy to contract by 3.3 percent.
    Portugal's core deficit tripled in the first two months of 2012, showing that the slump is denting tax revenues and stoking concerns that the country could miss its budgetary targets.
    But the centre-right government still commands strong support, despite promising tough times ahead when it came to power last year, suggesting many Portuguese believe that the austerity measures will eventually lead to recovery.
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