Europe

Portuguese protest against high unemployment rates, job insecurity

Portuguese protest against high unemployment rates, job insecurity
Hundreds of Portuguese unemployed workers and union members have demonstrated in the capital Lisbon to protest against high unemployment and job insecurity in the country.

Wednesday demonstration, which also marked Youth Day, was called by the youth section of the largest Portuguese union, the General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP), The Associated Press reported.

The protestors — carrying banners, reading, “We want work. We demand our rights” — said they were opposed to the harsh austerity measures, which the government started imposing in 2011 in return for 78 billion euros from the European Union (EU), the European Central Bank (ECB), and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to avoid bankruptcy.

Demonstrators said the recession was caused by the government’s imposition of tax hikes and spending cuts required by the bailout deal.

“All the protests have the same objective, for us to be heard, to change things. We won’t shut up until we achieve that,” said 27-year-old nurse Joana Teixeiras.

The Portuguese government is bracing for a record 18.2 percent jobless rate this year, up from last year’s 16.9 percent.

The cash-strapped eurozone country is grappling with its worst recession since the 1970s.

Battered by the global financial downturn, the Portuguese economy fell into a recession, which compelled the country to negotiate with the ‘troika’ of IMF, EU, and ECB for a bailout loan in 2011.

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