José Pacheco met today with the leadership of the Union of Workers of Manufacturing, Food, Trade, Offices, Tourism, and Transport Industries (SITACEHTT) and stated that “there cannot be workers treated differently within the national territory,” calling this situation “unacceptable.”
Approximately 450 Portuguese workers employed by Feusaçores, the U.S. forces stationed at Lajes Base on Terceira Island, have not received their salaries due to the U.S. budget deadlock between Republicans and Democrats, which has resulted in service paralysis.
While common in U.S. politics, the budget impasse had never affected civilian salaries at Lajes Base before.
Following a meeting with the Chega/Azores party members at the Azores parliament delegation in Ponta Delgada, José Pacheco criticized Regional Government Vice President Artur Lima’s proposal to cover the workers’ salaries if the Republic fails to do so as “cheap populism.”
“This is the biggest mistake the region has made, whether in this matter, with the police, or anything else, which is stepping forward,” stated the regional party leader, emphasizing that “this is the Republic’s responsibility.”
Azores Regional Government Vice President Artur Lima stated on Tuesday that if the Republic’s Government does not advance the overdue salaries at Lajes Base, the Azorean executive will take on this responsibility.
“If the Republic’s Government does not fulfill its obligation, the Regional Government will come up with a solution so that workers do not go without pay until the U.S. government shutdown is resolved,” Artur Lima told Lusa.
José Pacheco, during his statements today, remarked that the Republic “rented for free a space in the autonomous territory [of the Azores] and then the region has to pay for what the United States does not want to comply with.”
He asserted that if the United States “wants to remain in the Azores, they must comply with the country’s laws,” noting that “they do not do this in Spain or Germany.”
The President of the Republic, during his recent visit to the Azores, expressed concern over the delayed salary payments to Portuguese workers at Lajes Base, but he hoped that “solutions” would be found to resolve the issue.
Portugal and the United States have a bilateral defense and cooperation agreement independent of NATO, which allows military facilities at Lajes Base, including a Portuguese civilian workforce.
The agreement was last revised in 1995 and is overseen by a bilateral and a labor commission through delegations from both countries.
