A major strike in Portugal disrupts travel and services

LISBON, Portugal (AP) — A strike called by Portugal’s two main trade union confederations began disrupting travel Thursday while further impacts to government services, medical appointments and classes were expected.

The two labor groups representing close to a million Portuguese workers say it could be the country’s biggest walkout in more than 10 years as they contest the center-right government’s planned changes to employment laws.

The unions say the changes strip workers of entitlements, while the government argues they are needed to make the economy more supple and spur growth.

The proposed changes include making it easier for companies to fire workers, denying the right to strike in additional sectors of the economy and limiting breastfeeding breaks for mothers to the first two years of a baby’s life from the current open-ended dispensation.

Lisbon Metro said services were suspended at 11 p.m. Wednesday and would resume early Friday morning. Portuguese Railways warned of disruptions, while the light rail operator in Porto, Portugal’s second-largest city, also announced reduced services Thursday due to the strike.

Portugal has one of the European Union’s smallest economies and its workers are among the lowest paid in the 27-nation bloc. The average monthly wage is around 1,600 euros ($1,870) before tax, according to the National Statistics Institute. The minimum monthly wage earned by hundreds of thousands of workers is 870 euros ($1,018) before tax.

The Portuguese are also being pinched by a housing and cost of living crisis, as property prices soar and inflation sticks at just over 2%.

The European Commission expects Portugal to achieve GDP growth of around 2% this year, above the EU average of 1.4%. Unemployment stands at under 6%, roughly the EU average.

Trade unions planned street marches later Thursday. It is the first time since 2013 that the umbrella groups — the General Workers’ Union and the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers — have joined forces.

Social Democrat Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has described the strike as “senseless” because the country is doing well.