Civil service strikes this Friday, but Portugal is “one of the European countries with fewest strikes”

Civil servants are on strike this Friday in protest for higher wages and better career prospects. As a result, some schools will be closed and public services will be unavailable.

But Portugal is actually one of the European countries with “the fewest strikes per 100,000 inhabitants”, according to data highlighted this week by former Labour Minister José António Vieira da Silva at an ECO conference on labour law reform. The former minister also took the opportunity to send a message: it is better to avoid initiatives that could increase this conflict.

With regard to the civil service, it should be noted that the “major strike” called by the Common Front began at midnight on Friday, with the union accusing the government of degrading working conditions and disinvesting in public services.

The increase in salaries (beyond what was agreed), the valorisation of careers, the restoration of public ties and the defence of public services are, therefore, the main reasons for calling this strike, which is expected to be supported by teachers, educators and school assistants, doctors, nurses and health service assistants, public transport workers, tax inspectors and officials, and judicial officials.

Civil servants will be joined this Friday by the secretary-general of the CGTP (the trade union to which the Common Front belongs), who has already warned that if the government keeps the package of changes to labour legislation on the table, a general strike could be on the horizon. “All forms of struggle are on the table, including a general strike”, said Tiago Oliveira.

Even so, according to data from the European Trade Union Institute, Portugal is far from being one of the European countries with the most strikes. According to the strike map, between 2020 and 2023, an average of 8.9 working days per 100,000 workers were lost in the country due to stoppages.

This figure is not only lower than that recorded in the previous period (between 2010 and 2019, 14.1 working days were lost due to stoppages), but it is also lower than that recorded in ten of the 21 countries for which data is available.

For example, in Finland, an average of more than 142 working days per 100,000 workers were lost due to strikes, and in Belgium, around 93 days.

In France – where strikes generally attract a lot of media attention – between 2020 and 2023, 77.3 working days per 100,000 workers were lost due to worker stoppages, as shown in the graph below.

In view of these figures, former minister Vieira da Silva stressed this week that Portugal “is one of the European countries with the lowest level of labour unrest”. “It is one of the countries with the fewest strikes per 100,000 inhabitants. There is low conflict in our labour market”, he insisted at the close of the ’Labour Law Reform” conference, promoted by Trabalho by ECO on Wednesday, 22 October.

He also left a message at a time when labour law reform is being negotiated: “if this [low labour conflict] is considered an asset, it is better that we do not take initiatives that could increase this conflict”.

Minister in Parliament to defend State Budget

The aforementioned civil service strike takes place on the day that the Minister of Finance, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, and then the Minister of Labour, Maria do Rosário Palma Ramalho, will be heard in Parliament on the proposed State Budget for 2026.

The latter will answer questions from MPs, particularly on pension increases and a possible new extraordinary supplement for the lowest pensions, on the increase in the solidarity supplement for the elderly, and on the increase in the national minimum wage, which is expected to reach €920 in 2026 (although the government’s final ‘yes’ is still pending).

This year, in addition to negotiating the State Budget for 2026, Palma Ramalho is also discussing labour law reform in the Social Dialogue, which, according to the government’s draft bill, will include extending the limits on fixed-term contracts, the return of individual time banks, the end of the ban on outsourcing after collective redundancies or job losses, and the simplification of dismissals for just cause for micro, small and medium-sized enterprises.

However, an understanding between the social partners seems difficult at this point. In fact, at the aforementioned ECO conference, the president of the Portuguese Business Confederation (CIP), Armindo Monteiro, himself admitted that he did not consider an agreement likely. “And I think that’s a shame. It should be in the Social Dialogue that this agreement should be reached. We must all make an effort and not declare enemies and red lines before the negotiation”, he stressed.

Soraia Duarte, deputy secretary-general of the UGT, was quick to ask: “What if the [individual] time bank falls through?”. Armindo Monteiro replied: “That’s not the way to go, we’ll reach an agreement”. Soraia Duarte insisted: “What about outsourcing [the brake after redundancies]?”. Armindo Monteiro maintained his position, but warned: “We can look at all of that. We’re not digging our heels in on anything, but we’re not pretending either. If it’s going to be such a toothless agreement that it’s not worth it, then it’s not worth it”.

On behalf of the UGT, the deputy secretary-general admitted that there are indeed red lines, such as the individual hour bank, and accused the Government of not negotiating, but rather imposing a draft bill.

At the opening of the conference, the minister responsible showed openness to dialogue, but made it clear that she is not willing to drop the cornerstones of the reform that the government wants to make to the Labour Code. Furthermore, Palma Ramalho has already guaranteed that she will not rush the negotiations in the Social Dialogue, but she will not drag out the process either, which will still have to go through Parliament and further negotiations (this time with the opposition parties).