“The workers are worried, disappointed, and sad, they feel abandoned. It is a complicated situation. The bills can’t wait. Every day the situation worsens and we need answers,” stated Paula Terra, president of the Portuguese Workers’ Representative Commission (CRT) at Lajes Base, during a press conference in Angra do Heroísmo.
Salaries at Lajes Base on Terceira Island are paid biweekly. The paycheck for October 17 was delivered with deductions, while the one for October 27 was not issued.
The issue stems from a temporary, unpaid suspension imposed on U.S. federal employees due to the partial shutdown of the U.S. government as a result of the federal budget not being approved.
In a joint press conference, the Azores’ Union of Workers in Transformative Industries, Food, Commerce, Offices, Tourism and Transportation (SITACEHTT), alongside the Workers’ Representative Commission, urged the Portuguese government to follow the lead of Germany and Spain’s governments.
“What we have been advocating from the very beginning is what other countries have done, namely Germany and Spain, which is to ensure their workers receive payment at the end of the month. They advanced the payments and then reached an understanding with the U.S.,” explained Vítor Silva, coordinator of SITACEHTT/Azores.
In a joint statement, the Ministries of National Defense and Foreign Affairs indicated on Thursday that the Portuguese government was “assessing potentially viable solutions within the current national legal framework to reduce this impact.”
The government also emphasized it is “not responsible for the described situation,” but it is “concerned with the impact this delay has on the affected workers and their families.”
Vítor Silva argued that Portugal is a “direct interlocutor” in an international agreement with the U.S. and thus “cannot ignore a situation of this nature.”
“It is up to the Portuguese State, as the representative of these workers in the agreement, to ensure the payment of their salaries, and we will demand this, no matter the cost, sending letters to the Prime Minister, the Foreign Affairs Minister, and the Defense Minister,” he stressed.
The situation has been known for more than two weeks, yet according to Paula Terra, the national government still hasn’t contacted the workers.
“We were informed through a statement from the two ministries that solutions are being prepared. The workers’ commission would like to know what those solutions are,” she noted.
There is still no forecast for resolving the impasse over the U.S. federal budget approval, without which the Portuguese workers will continue to go unpaid.
Paula Terra emphasized that the “only solution” is for the Portuguese government to advance the payments.
“We cannot wait in limbo for a matter that is not our responsibility. We are Portuguese citizens, working in Portugal under an agreement signed between two countries. If one party does not fulfill the agreement, the other must enforce it,” she insisted.
According to the CRT president, workers at Lajes Base have “the same type of contracts” as those working for the U.S. Air Force in Germany.
“In principle, the solution applied to them could be applied to the workers at Lajes Base. If there is any legal situation preventing it, we are not aware,” she explained.
This is not the first instance where the U.S. administration has been without a budget, yet previous shutdowns did not impact Portuguese workers at Lajes Base.
“This issue has never affected Portuguese workers before because we have always been protected by labor agreements. At least that was the information given at the time,” noted Paula Terra.
Despite having assurances that the situation is “illegal,” workers have been advised to continue showing up for work to avoid dismissal and cannot strike or challenge the situation in court.
“One of the key points established in the first meeting with both Portuguese and U.S. commands was that this situation is not legal and can’t be applied to the workers in this manner. But, without an approved budget, there are no funds to pay salaries,” revealed the CRT president.
