“The Azores are the poorest region in the country, with the lowest wages and the worst working conditions. If this legislation is going to be negative and have detrimental effects nationwide, it will be much more severe for the Azores,” stated Vítor Silva, the coordinator of the Angra do Heroísmo Union of Trade Unions, affiliated with CGTP-IN.
The union leader spoke in Angra do Heroísmo, on Terceira Island, after submitting a resolution to the office of the representative of the Republic for the Azores. This resolution, approved minutes earlier at a union meeting, opposes the proposed changes to labor legislation.
According to Vítor Silva, despite various protest initiatives at the national level, workers in the Azores felt “obliged” to also voice their opposition to what they consider a “rollback of labor rights.”
“It is crucial that we inform and raise awareness among our delegates and union leaders so that they can provide the necessary information to their colleagues and help them understand that we must all unite and fight against this labor package,” he emphasized.
Far from Lisbon, Azorean workers opted to deliver a resolution to the representative of the Republic for the Azores, Pedro Catarino, “so he can convey to the Government of the Republic that workers in the Azores are also against this labor package.”
Additionally, a strike was organized today in nurseries, kindergartens, and leisure activity centers of social solidarity institutions, with strikes planned in other sectors.
“Our goal is to extend these strikes to more private sector activities so that workers can also join our struggles and contribute with their presence to overturn this labor package, which will significantly roll back workers’ rights,” stressed the union leader.
Asked about participation in today’s strike, Vítor Silva mentioned that he did not yet have numbers but noted that various institutions closed, and “many of those who attended the union meeting were workers from this sector.”
The USAH coordinator believes that most workers are still unaware of what is at stake with the proposed changes by the Government of the Republic.
“It is very important for unions to play this role of informing and raising awareness by going to workplaces to explain what is at stake so people understand. Once we explain, everyone becomes very concerned,” he revealed.
Vítor Silva argued that the package of over 100 measures proposed by the Government of the Republic does not include “a single measure favorable to workers” and warned that it will “completely deregulate labor relations.”
“This package is not for workers; it’s almost for slavery, and the time of slavery was abolished long ago,” he emphasized.
The document submitted today by the Angra do Heroísmo Union of Trade Unions also included proposals to improve workers’ conditions, such as reducing working hours to 35 hours weekly, increasing wages, implementing the principle of more favorable treatment, and ending the expiration of collective labor agreements.
“The economic growth observed in some sectors, such as tourism, commerce, or restaurants, has not benefited the workers,” the union leader noted, adding that “these sectors have the conditions to pay better wages to workers.”
