“I truly believe that tomorrow will be a day of great mobilization. I believe the country will largely come to a stop to signal to the Government and the right-wing parties that what they are doing is an assault on the working world and people’s rights, on the working parents, on precarious workers, and those who work extra hours and will earn less. All this must stop because it is an utterly indefensible aggression against workers’ rights,” stated José Manuel Pureza.
The new leader of the BE (Bloco de Esquerda) spoke to Lusa at the end of a meeting with the UGT in Lisbon, on the eve of the general strike scheduled for Thursday against the proposed changes to labor legislation by the Government.
José Manuel Pureza argued that pressure must remain for the Government to consider the demands and the workers’ opposition to the labor legislation amendments.
“I have no confidence in this Government, evidently not from a political standpoint. The Government will play with whatever parliamentary articulations it can; the far-right has remained silent on this labor package because they actually agree with the core issue. Therefore, if it is not for the pressure from the streets, the workplaces, and public opinion, we may witness a Government victory against the majority social will,” he emphasized.
The BE coordinator also highlighted that “this unity between the trade union centers and the significant mobilization of the workforce is crucial in itself because it signifies a strong desire to stop this aggression on the working world. It also signifies that this will is here to last.”
“It is important that this great mobilization continues so that the Government does not resort to what it has already accustomed us to, which is to perform a diversionary tactic here or there, sweeten the proposal here or there, and push things through due to parliamentary architecture and arithmetic,” he warned.
The BE coordinator stated that Thursday’s general strike “is decisively important for labor relations in Portugal” and has already resulted in “a significant victory. The country has ceased talking about burqas and distraction maneuvers and has started talking about what is essential—people’s rights, work, personal and professional life.”
José Manuel Pureza also noted that the party “will be mobilized across the entire country, at workplaces, pickets, and on the streets, to give full support to this general strike.”
