The Union of Workers in Commerce, Offices, and Services of Portugal (CESP) announced a strike notice initiated by the Portuguese Federation of Commerce, Offices, and Services Unions (FEPCES). This includes participation in the General Strike scheduled for December 11, 2025, organized by the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers – Intersindical Nacional (CGTP).
The strike, described as a complete work stoppage for the entire day, aims to reject what is termed as a labor package assaulting rights and challenging the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic.
Unions oppose the deregulation of work hours and unpaid work through the reinstatement of individual hourly banks or expanding conditions for imposing group hourly banks. They argue against the perpetuation of job insecurity with more reasons and longer durations for precarious links, the facilitation of dismissals, and the limitation of workers’ defense and reinstatement rights.
The strike also contests attacks on maternity and paternity rights, specifically flexible hours for parents with children up to 12 years old, with disabilities or chronic illnesses, being dependent on ‘adjustment to company operations,’ and the reduction in breastfeeding exemption until the child is two years old.
The protest addresses the attack on collective bargaining by facilitating contract expiration so that contracts and rights can be extinguished or partly or wholly suspended or modified by employers during a ‘business crisis.’
Unions highlight limitations on union freedom and the attack on the right to strike.
Specific objectives for the Commerce, Offices, and Services sector include demanding salary increases to stimulate internal demand and combat the loss of purchasing power, the enhancement of careers and professional categories, and the defense of humane working hours, against hourly banks, adaptability, and other forms of deregulation of working time.
The strike notice applies to workers whose normal daily work period starts on December 10 and extends into December 11, as well as those whose daily work period begins on December 11 and extends into December 12, as stated in the notice.
According to the notice, workers will ensure necessary services for the security and maintenance of equipment and facilities, as well as minimum services.
The CGTP and UGT have announced a general strike for December 11 against the government’s proposal, marking the first joint stoppage since June 2013, during Portugal’s intervention by the ‘troika.’
In an interview with Antena 1 and Jornal de Negócios, the secretary-general of UGT explained that the union initiated the strike after being cornered by the government, which advised reflection and admitted advancing to “two days of strike” if the executive presents a similar proposal.
