“The CUF group has stopped providing extra pay to cleaning staff for Sunday work. This is one of the rights removed, among several others. It has ceased to pay holiday work at 200%, as agreed, and now only pays at 100%. Additionally, the company mandates that workers undertake 12 consecutive daily working hours,” said union leader Vânia Cardoso to Lusa.
According to the STIHTRSN leader, who spoke to Lusa after a protest at CUF Hospital Porto, the issue of 12-hour shifts is “not only illegal, but it also disrupts personal and family life” as well as “the health of individuals, forcing them to work 12-hour days.”
In response to an inquiry by Lusa, an official source from CUF stated that “CUF Hospital Porto strictly complies with labor legislation and the applicable collective labor agreement and does not recognize the accusations” made by STIHTRSN.
Vânia Cardoso noted that this week the union “has been fighting in private hospitals because the employer association [Portuguese Association of Private Hospitals, APHP] made an agreement with the UGT that entails a series of rights being taken away from workers.”
The union leader cited “cuts in shift allowances, holiday pay, career progression, and insurance complement, among others,” as well as the creation of a “time bank and flexible work hours up to 12 daily hours that force workers to perform 12 consecutive hours.”
“In a 48-hour period, they can be forced to work without the workers’ consent,” she mentioned, following several protest actions at various private hospitals in Porto and Vila Nova de Gaia over recent weeks.
Lusa has contacted the APHP and is awaiting a response.
The issues affect cleaning staff, medical assistants, and receptionists, according to the union leader.
The STIHTRSN, part of the Federation of Agriculture, Food, Beverages, Hospitality, and Tourism Workers of Portugal (FESAHT), affiliated with the CGTP-IN, stated in a press release that the current collective labor agreement (CCT) for private hospitals “has existed since 1975, and FESAHT/CGTP-IN has negotiated and signed all revisions” since then, adding that “UGT unions have no representation in the sector.”
The statement highlights that “the private hospitalization sector is in excellent economic condition, with 10.7 million consultations, 10% more than in 2023, 1.5 million emergencies, 5% more births, 15,092 births, a 15% increase in exams, and a 12% increase in X-rays, with an 11.6% revenue increase in 2024 compared to 2023, reaching a total of 2.5 billion euros.”
