Manuel Pizarro accused António Leitão Amaro of “lying” regarding the impact of the general strike, thereby disrespecting all those who protested against the labor package presented by the Government.
In a personal post made on Thursday through social media, the former Health Minister stated, “Today [yesterday] I went on strike.” “A rare occurrence in my life,” he admitted.
The doctor revealed that he had never done so before out of respect for his patients, even having “gone on strike — without signing the attendance — on days when I worked normally.”
“Later, in the political positions I held, striking didn’t make sense,” he confessed, revealing that everything changed. “Today I went on strike. With conviction. In fact, I spent part of the morning at ‘my’ Hospital de S. João and witnessed an overwhelming adherence. I also saw understanding and support from patients, even those whose daily lives were disrupted by the strike,” he wrote.
Considering that “the changes the Government wants to make to labor law are a declaration of war on workers,” Manuel Pizarro also criticized the Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, who stated yesterday that the strike participation was “insignificant” and that the “overwhelming majority of Portuguese citizens were working.”
“When I heard the Minister of the Presidency trivialize the strike, lying about its impact, disrespecting those who went on strike and those who suffered from it, I was even more pleased to have joined. IN THE NAME OF THE DIGNITY OF WORKERS.”
The former government official further questioned the “legitimacy” of the labor package the Government aims to implement, questioning “why the AD, during the recent electoral campaign, did not announce these measures.”
“I didn’t strike for my sake today. These changes don’t affect me. But I struck with conviction. As José Teixeira, CEO of DST, one of the largest Portuguese construction companies, says about this: ‘leave the workers in peace’,” he concluded.
General strike and the numbers conflict
The labor law revision package prompted a general strike on Thursday, whose participation numbers divided the Government and employers on one side, and the union centers, on the other.
The initial reports from CGTP, which started at 5:30 a.m., revealed that various establishments were closed, ranging from schools to local councils and even healthcare units.
In fact, the secretary-general of CGTP, Tiago Oliveira, stated around lunchtime that more than three million people had joined the strike. “The general strike happening today [Thursday] is one of the largest ever, if not the largest ever,” Tiago Oliveira claimed.
The Government had a contrasting opinion. The Minister of the Presidency, António Leitão Amaro, considered the level of participation “insignificant,” contrary to the unions’ claims.
“This seems more like a partial public sector strike. The country is working. Participation in the strike is insignificant,” said the Minister of the Presidency at a press conference assessing the strike in Lisbon. “The overwhelming majority of the country is working,” he concluded.
