The failure to meet the minimum services stipulated for a strike is considered a disciplinary infraction, which may lead to the loss of vacation days and even dismissal.
“It depends on the severity of the infraction, it depends on the effects. It can range from the loss of vacation days and, ultimately, I cannot say it’s impossible to result in dismissal,” said lawyer Luís Gonçalves da Silva in statements to CNN Portugal.
In this regard, the law is clear, indicating that non-compliance “constitutes a disciplinary infraction.”
Health, Transport… What are the minimum services for this general strike?
The general strike on December 11 includes minimum services in several sectors such as health and transport, although not all are covered, like the Lisbon Metro.
The CGTP and UGT have decided to call a general strike in response to the draft labor law reform presented by the Government. This will be the first strike uniting the two union confederations since June 2013, a time when Portugal was under troika intervention.
The general strike on December 11 will include minimum services in various sectors like health and transport, although not all, such as the Lisbon Metro, are covered.
Lusa | 08:55 – 10/12/2025
Trains, Carris, and Boats with Minimum Services, Lisbon Metro Excluded
The operation of trains, boats, and Carris in Lisbon will be subject to minimum services during Thursday’s general strike, but the Metro will not be in service, according to decisions released by the Economic and Social Council (CES).
In the railway sector, minimum services are defined for CP – Comboios de Portugal, and as for the manager Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP), they will be “necessary to allow the fulfillment of minimum services decreed for CP, in addition to those identified in the minimum services proposal presented by the company concerning the circulation ensured by Fertagus and Medway.”
For the Lisbon Metro, the CES Arbitration Court decided unanimously “not to establish minimum services in terms of train circulation,” but in Carris, services on 12 lines must be ensured, and Transtejo/Soflusa will operate 25% of the routes from 06:00 to 09:30 and from 18:30 to 20:00.
Minimum Services for Galp Supply at Lisbon Airport
Fiequimetal and the river transport union agreed with ICD and Iberlim on minimum services to ensure supply at Lisbon, Lajes, and Santa Maria airports, but failed to reach an agreement for Transtejo Soflusa.
According to minutes published by the Directorate-General for Employment and Labor Relations (DGERT), ICD and Fiequimetal – Inter-union Federation of Metallurgical, Chemical, Electrical, Pharmaceutical, Cellulose, Paper, Graphic, Press, Energy, and Mining Industries, the definition of minimum services was based on a request made by Galp to ensure the supply provided at Lisbon Airport, where it has 13 workers per shift, and at the Azores airports on Lajes Island and Santa Maria, where there are two and four workers, respectively.
Fiequimetal’s proposal, accepted by ICD, specifies two workers per shift for Lisbon Airport, one for Lajes Airport, and another for Santa Maria.
