Lisbon, Sept. 1, 2026 (Lusa) - Three civil service trade union organisations affiliated to the Communist Party-backed CGTP confederation have called a strike involving all civil service grades for 2 October, to demand better pay for professionals who are «the lowest-paid in the civil service», the trade union federation announced on Tuesday.
The National Federation of Public and Social Service Workers' Unions (FNSTFPS), the National Union of Local and Regional Government, Public Enterprises, Concessionaires and Related Sectors Workers (STAL) and the Lisbon City Council Workers' Union (STML) have jointly organised the strike.
The strike covers around 350,000 workers in general roles within central, direct and indirect, local and regional public administration, said Joaquim Ribeiro, a leader of the national federation, at a press conference in Lisbon on behalf of the three organisations.
The trade unions are demanding an immediate improvement in the career prospects of these professionals, recognition of the specific nature of their professions, and the immediate start of pay negotiations without waiting until next year.
The strike serves to send «an urgent warning to the government», to show that «we cannot wait until 2027 to begin negotiations, and the workers will demonstrate precisely that», said Joaquim Ribeiro.
In addition to the nationwide strike, the trade unions have organised a demonstration in Lisbon for the same day at 11:00 a.m.
The trade union leader said that the strike involves «the lowest-paid workers in the civil service» and accused Luís Montenegro's government (PSD/CDS-PP) of «always leaving general service workers until last».
«Workers in general service roles are no more, but neither are they any less than any other professional group,» he said, emphasising that at stake are «the workers who face the worst conditions amongst public sector staff», who are close to the minimum wage and who have seen «their pay scale squeezed».
«Many workers, particularly operational assistants, have even been pushed down to the national minimum wage,» the trade union leader explained.
«These are the workers who keep public services running» and who «put themselves on the line every day» when dealing with the public, said Joaquim Ribeiro, citing as examples workers in Social Security, urban sanitation, refuse collection, schools and universities, registry and notary services, and the justice system.
Asked about expectations regarding participation in the strike, the leader said the unions expect «very strong» participation and noted that this will be «an opportunity to put pressure on the Government» in the run-up to the presentation of the draft State Budget for 2027, which must be submitted to parliament by 10 October.
«We are certain it will be a major public sector strike, with thousands of public services closed, thousands of schools closed, and disruption to refuse collection,» he said.
Joaquim Ribeiro acknowledged that the trade unions are aware that the strike «will cause disruption to the public», but what they are telling the public «is that workers are also going on strike so that public services can be delivered more effectively».
«With the wage stagnation we've experienced, the pay levels of technical assistants and senior technicians have fallen to within €200 of the national minimum wage, and we need to start negotiations in mid-2027 so that we can see the effects of this in 2028,» he explained.
He added that «the pay rises of recent years are insufficient to keep up with the cost of living and, at the moment, what the trade unions are hearing in the workplace is that ‘the month is getting longer and the pay is getting smaller'».
Of the 353,000 general-category staff, 170,000 are operational assistants, 92,000 are technical assistants, and 88,000 are senior technicians, according to the trade unions.
PCT/ADB // ADB.
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