“We have never heard the prime minister express concern for those who use the trains or those who work on them. Suddenly, the first time he speaks about work during this campaign, it’s to announce a limit on the right to strike,” criticized Mariana Mortágua during a campaign event in Coimbra.
The leader of the Left Bloc was responding to comments from PSD President and Prime Minister Luís Montenegro, who suggested that “political, partisan, and electoral influences” hindered the prevention of the CP strike. He advocated for potential changes to the law to balance the right to strike with other rights.
Mortágua argued that “Montenegro has not joined the workers’ struggle; he doesn’t care about labor issues” and “exploits the difficult lives of people when he wants to pit workers against each other.”
“There is no discussion on wealth redistribution for workers. Instead, all the rhetoric, violence, and authoritarianism are directed against workers’ rights,” she charged.
Regarding possible changes to strike laws, Mortágua expressed her concerns, stating she viewed them “in the worst way possible.”
“A prime minister only discussing labor issues during a campaign to say he will alter workers’ right to strike speaks volumes about the program of the right, specifically the PSD and the right-wing for the country,” she warned.
Addressing the timing of the strike, Mariana Mortágua emphasized that workers decide their “forms of struggle at each moment,” fully aware of their impact.
“But the power of the strike lies in that,” she underscored.
The prime minister’s statements faced criticism from the majority of the opposition, particularly from the Secretary-General of the PS, Pedro Nuno Santos, who, in Covilhã, district of Castelo Branco, deemed it unacceptable to “insult democracy” by threatening to change the strike law due to the CP’s paralysis.
The President of the Republic, speaking at the Palácio de Belém in Lisbon, observed that “the number of strikes increases slightly” during election periods and chose not to comment on potential law changes.
Meanwhile, the National Union of Portuguese Railways Engineers (SMAQ) denied any political motivations for the CP strike and held the Government responsible for the disruption caused to the public, citing a failure to honor a negotiated agreement.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, accused the unions of timing the strike for political reasons, considering the upcoming snap legislative elections on May 18.
