Since 2023, “transportation and health have ranked among the top 5 sectors where strikes occur. This means that not only do most strikes happen in vital social sectors,” but also, “in many cases,” they occur “in sectors where disruption can seriously disturb other vital sectors and limit the exercise of fundamental rights,” stated Rosário Palma Ramalho in parliament.
Among these fundamental rights are the “right to work, the right to free movement of people, the right to access education, health, and other essential goods,” specified the Minister of Labor, Solidarity and Social Security, who is currently being heard in parliament, following a request by the Chega parliamentary group.
In her initial remarks, Rosário Palma Ramalho also referred to a series of strike pre-notification data over recent years.
According to the minister, from January 2021 “up to the present,” there have been 5,029 strike pre-notifications, during which “190 processes were sent to the Economic and Social Council for minimum service arbitration” and “367 agreements on minimum services were reached between the parties” through DGERT.
Specifically referring to 2025, “476 strike warnings, 19 minimum service dispatches, and 23 processes sent for arbitration” were registered, she added, noting that the number of strikes and the number of companies affected “has been increasing in recent years.”
