PORTUGAL: Transport and waste collection picket lines mark the start of a general strike against austerity measures of the government of Prime Minister Pedro Passos-Coelho.

Record ID: 340696

  • Title: PORTUGAL: Transport and waste collection picket lines mark the start of a general strike against austerity measures of the government of Prime Minister Pedro Passos-Coelho.
  • Date: 23rd March 2012
  • Summary: LISBON, PORTUGAL (MARCH 21, 2012) (REUTERS) EXTERIOR OF FIRE STATION BANNER OUTSIDE OUTSIDE FIRE STATION CGTP UNION LEADER, ARMENIO CARLOS, ARRIVING AT FIREMEN'S PICKET AND GREETING STRIKERS (SOUNDBITE) (Portuguese) ARMENIO CARLOS, CGTP UNION LEADER, SAYING: "This is a fight with dual responsibility. For those who enjoy rights and fight to keep them, and fight for th
  • Embargoed: 7th April 2012 13:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: Portugal, Portugal
  • Country: Portugal
  • Topics: Business,European Union,Politics
  • Reuters ID: LVAA7QZTVSV147Y3D75RGDI1N7Y6
  • Story Text: Workers from Portugal's largest union confederation picketed at the capital's train, metro and waste collection hubs late on Wednesday (March 21) as the country braced itself for a third general strike against sweeping austerity and rising unemployment.
    Transport and other public services are expected to be disrupted on Thursday (March 22) across the nation of 11 million, as workers show their opposition to job losses and unpopular spending cuts.
    "This is a fight with dual responsibility. For those who enjoy rights and fight to keep them, and fight for those rights which can be used by future generations,", CGTP leader Armenio Carlos said as he arrived at a picket line at the fire brigade headquarters in Lisbon.
    Workers on the picket lines feel the government is not taking people into consideration as they attempt to sort out the country's economic woes.
    A section of Lisbon's municipal workers also gathered for a picket outside a waste collection headquarters and succeeded in blocking several trucks trying to leave for shifts.
    Police arrived to monitor the picket, but the protest proceeded peacefully.
    Trains of Portugal (CP) warned of delays and disruptions across all services from Wednesday afternoon throughout Thursday morning.
    Some disgruntled commuters turned up at one of Lisbon's busiest train stations before midnight, surprised to see trains suspended and complained about a lack of information.
    "I thought it would start tomorrow, I did not know it was today. They did not give a heads-up, I did not see anything on the news, no one knew. A lot of people showed up here and no one had the notion that the strike would start at 10 (pm) already," said Joao Santos Mota, who had to arrange alternative means of transport to get home.
    Lisbon's Metro said it would resume normal services on Friday morning only.
    Divisions in the union movement and a lack of public appetite are, however, likely to make the strike a subdued affair compared with the violent protests seen in fellow bailout recipient Greece.
    Portuguese, with no real history of widespread protests, have so far shown little passion for the kind of seething protests and frequent strikes that have hit Greece during its debt crisis.
    However, with Portugal facing its worst recession since the 1970s, and with unemployment at a record high above 14 percent, tension is rising.
    The strike, called by the country's largest CGTP union, aims to garner workers' opposition to harsh government spending cuts, which have been imposed by the 78 billion euro EU/IMF bailout Portugal secured last May.
    Industrial action comes as the country faces renewed scrutiny in financial markets about its ability to tackle its debt burden, with the chief executive of bond fund giant PIMCO warning in the past week that Portugal will have to follow Greece by the end of this year in a debt restructuring and seek additional bailout money.
    A dispute between Portugal's major unions, however, risks undermining the strike, as happened with industrial action by the transport sector in February, which flopped.
    The country's second-largest union, the UGT, split with the CGTP early this year when it signed up to labour market reforms proposed by the government under the terms of the bailout, diluting opposition to austerity policies.
    The CGTP, which has a new leader, is undaunted, insisting that the Portuguese must fight back to maintain social benefits that are being rolled back due to the demands of the bailout by the European Union and International Monetary Fund.
    Armenio Carlos' main point of disagreement is a labour market reform agreed by the government in January, which will make it easier for companies to hire and fire and cuts compensation pay for workers.
    Carlos, who has called for a renegotiation of Portugal's debts to overcome its crisis, is hoping that the severe recession this year, when the economy is officially forecast to shrink by 3.3 percent, will lead to bigger protests.
    The deepening recession will make it harder for Lisbon to meet deficit targets agreed under the bailout and Portuguese bonds have missed out on a recent rally in peripheral euro zone bonds, with government bond yields staying around 14 percent.
    Finance Minister Vitor Gaspar, however, reiterated the government's stance this week that Lisbon would not seek a second bailout and current bond yields do not reflect the country's economic conditions.
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