“I will not comment on numbers. Those who wanted to strike did so, it’s their right, [but] the majority of the public administration was working and the overwhelming majority of the private sector was working,” stated Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, speaking to Portuguese journalists in Brussels at the end of the European Union finance ministers’ meeting.
When asked if he was contradicting the trade unions’ figures concerning Thursday’s general strike, the official replied, “I’m saying there were small situations in some public services where the strike had some effect, but overall, the country worked.”
“You just have to see that electricity consumption was more or less at the usual level of a weekday, and ATM withdrawals were also in line with what is usual, so the country carried on, and those who wanted to strike have that right,” he added.
When questioned about the Prime Minister’s statements on increasing the national minimum wage to 1,600 euros, currently at 870 euros, the Finance Minister refrained from specifying a timeline.
“It would be speculative” to say when this could happen, as “it depends on many variables. We must have ambition, ambition to reform the country, increase productivity, and achieve more economic growth,” he emphasized.
Nonetheless, according to Joaquim Miranda Sarmento, “the goal [of a 1,600 euros minimum wage] is what is in the electoral program.”
Regarding labor reform negotiations between the government and unions, Joaquim Miranda Sarmento stated that these discussions “are ongoing.”
“In fact, the strike happens in the middle of a negotiation, because neither party has ended this negotiation, and certainly not the government,” he concluded.
The general strike was called by the union organizations CGTP-IN and UGT, opposing labor law changes supported by the government.
While the government estimated the strike participation between 0% and 10%, the unions claimed more than 80% participation, with 100% in services like the Lisbon Metro.
