About a hundred thousand people held a protest in Lisbon

In Lisbon, the capital of Portugal, on November 8, tens of thousands of people took to the streets to protest the new labor legislation, which, according to participants in the action, threatens workers’ rights.

International news agencies and Portuguese media report this.

The protest was organized by the country’s largest trade union, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP). According to their data, the number of participants in the action reached 100,000.

The reason for the protest was the changes to the labor code approved by the government of Prime Minister Luiz Montenegro in September of this year. The authorities believe these changes will increase the economy’s competitiveness.

The new legislation will make it easier to fire employees for objective reasons, reduce restrictions on outsourcing, and allow employers to create “individual time banks” that enable employees to work up to 2 extra hours a day, but no more than 150 hours a year.

Protesters expressed their outrage not only at the new rules but also called for higher wages. According to official data, Portugal is one of the poorest countries in Western Europe; last year, more than 50% of workers received less than 1,000 euros per month, and the minimum wage is only 870 euros, one of the lowest in the EU.