General Strike Mobilizes Hundreds of Workers

Hundreds of Public Sector Services Affected During Morning Protests

This Thursday, December 11, hundreds of workers in Madeira participated in a general strike. The event, coordinated locally by the União de Sindicatos da Madeira, saw unions gather in front of the Legislative Assembly, with many public services either disrupted or fully closed.

Main criticisms of The Proposed Labor Reform

• Dismissals: The unions say the draft law makes it easier for companies to fire workers, reducing job security.

• Return of the individual “bank of hours”: This mechanism allows employers and workers to agree individually on variable working hours, but unions see it as a way to impose unpaid overtime and destabilize regulated schedules.

• Fixed-term contracts: The reform includes changes to short-term, temporary contracts, which unions believe will extend and normalize precarious employment instead of promoting permanent jobs.

• Flexible working hours: The project revises rules on working time flexibility in ways that, according to unions, increase employers’ power to unilaterally manage workers’ daily schedules.

Broader Union Concerns

• They argue these reforms weaken collective bargaining and shift power from collective agreements to individual negotiations, where workers usually have less leverage.

• They fear it will lead to longer, irregular hours without fair overtime pay.

• They frame the reform as a “social regression,” claiming it undermines the goals of secure jobs, fair wages, regulated schedules, and collective rights.

• Leaders like António Gouveia (USAM/CGTP) use strong language, describing it as a step toward “slavery” and a reversal of decades of protections gained for workers.

Political and Social Context

• The AD government argues the reform aligns Portugal with EU labor market flexibility and competitiveness goals.

• The unions, however, consider that it mainly benefits employers and large companies, aggravating inequalities, especially in regions like Madeira with already high levels of precarious work and low wages.

• As a result, both USAM and CGTP threaten to escalate to a general strike if the government presses ahead.

First Joint Strike by CGTP and UGT Since June 2013 Intervention

The current strike is the first time the two main Portuguese unions have acted together since June 2013, during Portugal's financial intervention by the troika. This collaboration signals a unified opposition to government labor policies after more than a decade.

Strike Targets ‘Trabalho XXI’ Law Reform Proposed by Government

The 24-hour strike protests the draft law ‘Trabalho XXI,’ which the government introduced as a labor reform. Unions argue that the law threatens workers’ rights, claiming it could reduce protections in employment contracts and working conditions.

Madeira Unions Highlight Growing Worker Dissatisfaction in Regional Labor Policies

Union representatives at the assembly emphasized widespread discontent with labor reforms. “Workers are defending rights that took years to build,” said a spokesperson from the União de Sindicatos da Madeira, underlining the sense of urgency among public employees.

Source: Diário de Notícias Madeira