Portuguese civil servants go on anti-austerity strike

Public sector workers have staged a day-long strike across Portugal to express their anger at salary and job cuts triggered by the government’s austerity measures.

Friday’s industrial action was called by federations linked to the country’s two main trade unions, the CGTP and UGT.

Hospitals, schools, courts, state offices, public transport and garbage disposal facilities were all affected by the walkout.

Banners were put up outside several institutions reading, “closed due to the strike.”

Surgical procedures were reportedly cancelled or delayed, with the main union of teachers claiming that a million pupils failed to attend classes.

“Civil servants have had enough, it`s a cry of revolt, they cannot make any more sacrifices,” said Ana Avoila, one of the coordinators of Friday’s action.

In May 2014, Portugal exited its international 78-billion-euro bailout program, regaining control of its finances.

The government, however, devised stricter austerity measures to meet budget targets, in a move which angered Portuguese labor unions.

The parliament passed a law last year, which has cut salaries by up to ten percent for civil servants earning a minimum of 1,500 euros a month and extended the 35-hour working week by five hours.

“The civil servants have suffered the most punishment due to the policies imposed by the troika” of lenders, said Luis Lobo, a spokesman for the teachers` union, adding, “Since 2011, our salaries have gone down by 11 percent.”

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Portuguese economy fell into a recession, which compelled the country to negotiate with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the European Central Bank (ECB) and the European Union (EU) for a bailout loan in 2011.

In return for the bailout, the Portuguese government had to impose a number of austerity measures, including more public spending cuts and tax rises, as required by the terms of the international bailout loan.

Over the past months, Portugal has been hit with a series of strikes. In October last year, the crews for the TAP Portugal carrier also staged a 24-hour strike, demanding better working conditions.

In November, transport workers and nurses took to the streets of the Portuguese capital city of Lisbon against plans for privatization, wage cuts and longer working hours by the administration of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho.

Hundreds of doctors also staged a protest in July in front of the Portuguese Ministry of Health as part of a nationwide strike to demand better conditions on the national health care.