Thousands protest in Portugal demanding higher wages and food price cuts By Reuters
Sergio Gonçalves and Miguel Pereira
LISBON (Reuters) – Thousands of protesters filled downtown Lisbon on Saturday, demanding higher wages and pensions, and government intervention to curb food prices that they say are choking on already tight budgets.
Locksmith Paula Gonçalves, 51, said people are “protesting low wages, instability and more fairness” for workers.
“We workers produce, we give away everything we have… and profits are all for the employers and nothing for us,” she said.
Portugal is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe, and official figures show that more than 50% of Portuguese workers earned less than 1,000 euros ($1,067) a month last year, while the minimum wage is just 760 euros a month.
According to Eurostat, the minimum wage in Portugal, measured in purchasing power parity and not in current prices, is 681 euros per month in 2023, which is the 12th lowest of the 15 countries in the European Union that have a minimum wage. For comparison: 726 euros in Poland, 775 euros in Greece or 798 euros in Spain.
Portugal’s largest umbrella union, the CGTP, which has called the protests, is calling for an immediate increase in wages and pensions by at least 10% and wants the government to impose price caps on basic foodstuffs.
Portugal’s Economy Minister Antonio Costa Silva on Friday ruled out any government intervention to stem rising food prices, saying the market is the best mechanism for setting prices.
As of January 1, public sector wages rose by an average of 3.6% compared to 2022 levels, while private sector wages rose by 5.1% and pensions rose by a maximum of 4.83%, according to government data.
Inflation in Portugal slowed to 8.2% in February from 8.4% in the previous month. Prices for unprocessed foods such as fruits and vegetables rose by 20.11%.
A year after Socialist Prime Minister Antonio Costa won a majority in Parliament, he faced street protests and strikes by teachers, doctors, railway workers and other professionals.
“Every time I go to the supermarket, I see that (prices of) groceries are going up a little more every day and wages are not going up… there is an urgent need to curb the rise in the cost of living,” said Ana Amaral, 51. , assistant hospital administrator.
($1 = €0.9376)
