The administration led by José Manuel Bolieiro has announced that workers associated with the United States Forces in the Azores (USFORAZORES) had their salaries suspended due to a U.S. budgetary impasse, which has since been resolved.
“The exceptional and temporary measure took effect on November 8, providing a reimbursable advance to USFORAZORES workers equivalent to the overdue net wages, calculated for the pay period from September 7 to September 20, 2025,” reads the statement from the Azorean executive.
Artur Lima, the Vice President of the Regional Government, noted that initially the region requested intervention from Luís Montenegro’s government to compensate for the wage loss experienced by workers at Lajes Base because of this budget stalemate, lamenting that their plea was not addressed.
“It is incomprehensible that both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Defense have only engaged in assessing solutions without providing a response for these Azorean Portuguese workers, who found themselves in a situation the ministries are, evidently, not unaware of,” Lima stated, as mentioned in the official release.
The Vice President also pointed out that, faced with the neglect of these workers at the Lajes Base, the Regional Government had no choice but to find ways to mitigate this income loss.
“I actively engaged in crafting this solution that ensured these workers and their families could meet their immediate financial needs. The number of workers who availed themselves of this opportunity is evidence of its tangible impact. This was a humane and necessary measure,” reiterated Artur Lima.
Despite this, the Azorean executive emphasized that this was an “exceptional and temporary” intervention, making it clear that “it is the responsibility of the Government of the Republic,” not the Azorean administration, “to devise measures” to overcome such issues should they recur.
“The situation of these workers arises from an agreement between two States, and I remind that they contribute to Social Security as per paragraph 2 of Article 19 of the Labor Regulation, so the solution can be easily implemented through Social Security,” the Regional Government noted in the press release.
The Lajes Air Base on Terceira Island is considered a “strategic asset” for Portugal, the United States, and NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) and has played a crucial role this year in various military conflicts worldwide.
