A representative from the Union of Industries, Energy, Services, and Water of Portugal (SIEAP) announced today that a partial strike notice has been issued for the period between the 22nd and 26th of this month. This strike will involve four-hour stoppages per shift, totaling a daily halt of 12 hours at Terminal XXI of the Port of Sines, located in the Setúbal district.
This period of strike — the third called since May — aims to demand better working conditions, career progression, and working hours.
During a meeting on August 27, workers pledged to escalate their protest this month if the management continued to remain “radicalized and unresponsive to [their] demands,” stated SIEAP’s Secretary-General, Cláudio Santiago, at the time.
In a statement sent today, PSA Sines’ General Director, Nichola Silveira, expressed concern about this partial strike, acknowledging that it “could affect the port operation” of the country’s largest container terminal.
According to Nichola Silveira, the port operation might be impacted due to “the loss of movements, customer confidence, and the long-term sustainability of many jobs.”
This situation, she noted, could have “potential impacts on the local and national economy, as well as disrupt the flow of goods.”
In the same statement, demonstrating “their ongoing commitment to dialogue,” Nichola Silveira mentioned that the company “has recently reached an understanding with Union XXI,” the largest union represented at the terminal.
This agreement included “the creation of a working group to begin discussions on a new schedule model” and the implementation of “an incentive scheme based on monthly container movements.”
Meanwhile, in a statement, SIEAP maintained that the partial strike “is the inevitable response to an administration that refuses to engage in serious and inclusive dialogue.”
Despite the agreement between the company and another union, SIEAP has been “systematically blocked in its negotiation attempts, with its proposals for a more humane scheduling model being repeatedly ignored,” claimed the union calling the strike.
Through this struggle, workers demand “the end of an unbalanced scheduling model and the return of acquired rights, such as the birthday day-off,” rather than “bonuses that mask the reality.”
“The real risk to customer confidence and long-term sustainability is not the strike, but the company’s policy of ignoring the well-being of its workers,” warned SIEAP.
