The Ministries of Defense and Foreign Affairs issued a joint statement on Thursday, emphasizing that the government is “unrelated” to the payment delays affecting Portuguese workers at the Lajes Base in the Azores. However, they assured that solutions are being evaluated.
The ministries explained that the recent ‘shutdown’ in the United States has caused delays in the payment of salaries owed to Portuguese workers at the Lajes Base due to the American authorities, who are their employers.
The Portuguese government referred to the U.S. government shutdown, resulting from a stalemate between Republicans and Democrats over federal funding approval, which has lasted for three weeks.
The government stated that it is not responsible for the situation, but is concerned about the impact of the payment delays on affected workers and their families.
In addition to ongoing diplomatic efforts with U.S. authorities, the government is assessing possible solutions within the national legal framework to mitigate this impact.
About 420 workers at the Lajes Base, who are paid bi-weekly, have not received payment for the last period equivalent to 24 hours of work from October 1 to October 4 due to a temporary unpaid suspension applicable to U.S. federal employees.
The workers have been informed that they will not receive any payment on the upcoming Monday, the scheduled date for the next bi-weekly payment.
On October 15, the Vice President of the Regional Government of the Azores, Artur Lima, sent a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Paulo Rangel, urging the Republic’s government to engage all available diplomatic channels to ensure the fulfillment of contractual and salary obligations for the Portuguese civil workers at the Lajes Base.
On the same day, the Legislative Assembly of the Azores passed a resolution demanding the immediate settlement of overdue salaries.
The Azores Union of Workers in Manufacturing, Food, Commerce, Offices, Tourism, and Transport (SITACEHTT), representing Lajes Base workers, appealed to the Portuguese state to pay the salaries if the U.S. authorities fail to do so.
The U.S. government shutdown has notably impacted federal employees, with an estimated 750,000 federal workers expected to be laid off due to the deadlock at its onset.
Most public workforce operations have ceased, except for security forces, including the military, airports, and social security, who continue with their duties. However, employees will only receive their salaries once the budget is approved.
