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Portuguese unions begin week of protest against austerity measures
Oct 20, 2011, 12:01 GMT
Lisbon - Portuguese trade unions on Thursday began a week of protests against the government's austerity policies, in a prelude to a general strike scheduled for November 24.
Thousands of people were expected to stage work stoppages and to attend demonstrations around the country.
The Lisbon underground had warned of possible disruptions because of an employees' assembly related to the protests. However, trains operated normally on Thursday morning.
The country's main trade union confederation CGTP wanted to mobilize workers against the government's economic policies, which 'contribute to the aggravation of injustice and poverty,' CGTP representative Armenio Carlos said.
Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho's conservative government has adopted spending cuts, tax hikes and privatizations in an attempt to cut the budget deficit from 9.8 per cent in 2010 to 4.5 per cent in 2012.
The measures are in line with the conditions agreed with the European Union and the International Monetary Fund, which granted Lisbon a bailout worth 78 billion euros (110 billion dollars).
The austerity is seen as contributing to the ongoing recession, with the government expecting the economy to shrink by 1.9 per cent this year and by 2.8 per cent in 2012.
Unemployment is expected to rise from the current 12 to 13.5 per cent.
Opposition against the austerity has increased, with even President Anibal Cavaco Silva criticizing bonus cuts affecting the income of active and retired public sector employees.
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