Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, Dec. 10, 2025 (Lusa) - The leader of the regional government of the Portuguese Island of Madeira (PSD/CDS-PP), Miguel Albuquerque, said on Wednesday that the general strike called for Thursday is "unreasonable" given the need for a more competitive economy.
"I think that, at this moment, we have to ensure minimum services. I think that, at this moment, this strike is completely unreasonable. That is my opinion," the head of the Madeira executive told journalists.
Thursday's general strike was called by the CGTP-IN and UGT trade unions against the proposed revision of the Labour Code and will be the first joint strike by the two main trade unions since June 2013, when Portugal was under the intervention of the “troika”. (The Troika in Portugal refers to the financial assistance intervention (IMF, ECB, European Commission) between 2011 and 2014, after the country requested help due to the sovereign debt crisis, implementing an austerity programme with wage cuts, tax increases and labour reforms, resulting in recession, increased unemployment and emigration).
The Madeiran minister argued that it is necessary to "start thinking about the world we are living in".
In his view, "the world has changed", and it is necessary to "have a competitive economy" and "have more flexibility in all areas - in productivity, in labour - which does not mean that workers' rights do not have to be guaranteed".
Miguel Albuquerque added that "the configuration of the companies themselves has changed a lot", so it is "very important to focus on what is fundamental, which is for Portugal to continue to grow economically and continue to play an important role in increasing productivity and economic growth".
"These strikes only cause disruptive effects on the entire functioning of our society," he argued.
The Madeiran leader argued that the calls for strikes happen because "many of the unions are influenced by the Communist Party and most strikes are triggered for partisan purposes when a centre-right government is in power, because when there is a left-wing government there are few strikes".
Albuquerque pointed out that the new labour package "introduces some of the rules that most European countries already have, and Portugal has to keep up with this development".
The President of the Regional Government of Madeira argued that "in 1990, Europe had 20% of the world's GDP (Gross Domestic Product) and now it has 14%", indicating that it is essential to "look at reality and not bury our heads in the sand", because "Portugal is competing in a global economy".
"Wages will only increase when there is greater productivity," he emphasised, stressing that a welfare state is necessary and that "no one is left unprotected" in the existing system in Europe, unlike in other countries on different continents, such as North America and Asia.
However, the island's leader argued that "there has been a great deal of disinformation" about the rules and content of the new labour law bill, because most of the issues are those that "most European countries" already have.
"There is always great capacity for negotiation," he stressed, recalling that in Madeira there have been negotiations with workers and mentioning the agreement reached on Tuesday with the region's hotel industry, which determined a 6% increase in workers' wages, a "fair" figure given the growth of this sector in the archipelago.
Miguel Albuquerque insisted that Portugal needs to have "standards that are appropriate for economic growth".
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