Some supermarkets in the Greater Lisbon region are closed or running on half-gas due to today’s strike by retail workers for better wages, a union source said.
The 24-hour strike, which began at 00:00 and ends at 23:59, has led to the closure of Minipreço supermarkets in Lisbon, Amadora, Odivelas and Barreiro, Filipa Costa, president of Cesp – the Portuguese Trade, Office and Service Workers’ Union, which called the strike, told Lusa.
At 10:00, she said that some Pingo Doce supermarkets in the Lisbon area were operating with almost half their staff and a petrol station in Braga was closed.
The workers are demanding wage increases of at least 150 euros a month and respect for working hours.
According to Filipa Costa, it is unacceptable that, in a context of “rising living costs”, workers continue to receive the minimum wage or “little more” and company profits “have increased exponentially”.
The union leader also highlighted the “widespread disregard” for working hours.
“There’s a shortage of workers and companies don’t want to hire them,” said the president of Cesp, a union that is also demanding the closure of shops on Sundays and public holidays and a reduction in working hours until 10pm on other days.
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