“All the negative consequences that [the strike] has on people’s lives, in movement, in mobility, all of this is solely the responsibility of the Government,” stated Paulo Raimundo, speaking to journalists during a public walkabout in Matosinhos, in the Porto district.
The communist leader was responding to comments made by the Minister of Infrastructure, Miguel Pinto Luz, who on Tuesday called for the strike to be called off, describing it as “meaningless,” claiming the Government had done all it could while managing the situation.
For Paulo Raimundo, the minister, “instead of wasting time on election campaigning,” should “do today what he did not do yesterday, the day before, or any other day this year, which is to solve the problems of those working at CP.”
The PCP’s general secretary emphasized that everything “that is happening is the responsibility of the Government, particularly the minister.”
“And the minister, with the time he has, should spend it solving problems rather than encouraging them, as that is what he is doing,” he said.
The train strike began today and will continue until May 14.
The strike is expected to have a significant impact especially today and Thursday, due to the larger number of unions (14) participating on these days.
Miguel Pinto Luz commented on Tuesday that these strikes at CP “are not a negotiation tool. They are strikes empty of goals, they are political strikes.”
In a press conference, the minister clarified that the Government proposed a salary mass increase of 5.75 million euros with an extraordinary career restructuring, stating that this was the “maximum allowed in this situation of a caretaker Government.”
