The CGTP-IN organised on 9 June, in Lisbon, a powerful national demonstration, attended by many tens of thousand people. This largest demonstration in recent years in Portugal was the clear evidence of the workers’ strength and unity, and was held under the motto “Fight for rights, value the workers!”
This action was the mass expression of the intense struggle being waged in the companies and workplaces. Workers do not disarm. They defeated the previous government and paved the way to the current balance of forces more favourable to workers (that allowed for the reinstatement and achievement of rights and revenues), but now demand new and more decisive steps.
As a result of the convergence of smaller and larger actions of struggle, gathered in Lisbon different generations of workers from all over the country. They came to defend a policy that values work and the workers and demanding, among other: the end of precarious work, a general pay rise and the upgrade of the national minimum salary to 650 Euros and the right to collective bargaining with rights.
Workers took to the streets to reject the agreement signed by the government, big employers and the UGT (an agreement applauded by the right-wing parties). An agreement which is in line with the continuity of the right-wing policy in the labour area, bringing it even further, namely by:
- reinforcing precariousness, by enlarging the employment trial period from 90 to 180 days, for youngsters seeking first employment or for the long term unemployed – in violation of the equality principle, since it will not apply universally – and allowing the employers to hire workers for 6 months and subsequently firing them freely;
- generalising very short term contracts in all sectors, in exchange for a minimum corporate tax for Social Security, which can be dodged by the employers, as explained above;
- facilitating the enforcement of a group hour bank ( 150 hours more per year), reducing the percentage of workers (from 75% to 65%) that must agree with its implementation and admitting that non- trade union structures ( thus serving the employers interests) may represent the workers and monitor this process;
- allowing employers to chose the most convenient Collective Labour Agreement and the most favourable collective bargaining, to serve their aim of cutting workers’ rights and incomes and thus obtain maximum profit.
9 June – A powerful CGTP-IN demonstration