“Today in Lisbon alone, there have been four cancellations,” stated Carlos Araújo, a leader of the Metalworking and Related Industries Union (SIMA), adding that in Porto, there hasn’t been a strike in ten years, but people are now participating.
Efforts to gather information on the stoppage’s impact from airport operator ANA – Aeroportos de Portugal were unsuccessful.
According to the SIMA representative, “in Lisbon, yesterday at eight in the evening [20:00], there should have been 20 airfield officers on duty, but only four were present.”
Carlos Araújo also predicted an increase in flights departing with only passengers, leaving baggage and cargo behind, following the 25 instances of such occurrences by 18:00 on Friday.
In a statement, the union accused SPdH/Menzies of “flagrantly violating the right to strike” to “neutralize the strike’s effects” by engaging in “illegal practices” such as “forced shift advancement and summoning workers on days off,” “replacing strikers with workers from temporary employment agencies,” and “abusive rescheduling of rosters.”
“SIMA is gathering evidence of these illegalities and will file formal complaints with the Labor Conditions Authority (ACT) and the Public Prosecutor’s Office, demanding accountability from Menzies/SPdH’s management,” it said.
For a “small union representing 4%” of Menzies’ roughly 3,600 workers, the strike is deemed “successful on all levels,” according to the union leader.
“We do not celebrate what’s happening, but in terms of organization and mobilization, it’s successful. There’s a strike in Porto for the first time,” he emphasized.
The protest, organized by SIMA and the Transport Workers Union (ST), commenced at midnight on Friday and is scheduled to last until midnight on Monday.
This strike marks the first of five four-day strikes planned over the weekends until early September.
In August, strike periods are scheduled for August 8-11, 15-18, 22-25, and from August 29 to September 1.
Workers’ demands include ending base salaries below the national minimum wage, payment for night hours, improved salary conditions, and the maintenance of parking access under previous terms.
The SIMA representative also mentioned that Menzies, “in coordination with TAP, is bypassing certain security procedures” to minimize the strike’s impact.
“Yesterday [Friday], a message was sent via PDA indicating that the ‘cross-check’ (involving face-to-face confrontations of passengers with boarding passes and personal identification) was no longer being performed. This is a security breach, as it’s a mandatory procedure on flights,” he detailed.
Additionally, another message sent on Friday stated that “carry-on luggage would not be removed from passengers.”
“This means passengers can carry whatever they can onboard. This will clog overhead compartments, delay boarding, and jeopardize the plane’s safety,” he argued.
The Arbitration Court has mandated minimum services for handling critical safety situations, emergency, military, state flights, and TAP flights with night-stopovers in Europe, as well as regular connections between Lisbon and the Azores and Madeira, and between Porto and the archipelagos.
