Portugal set for major disruptions in first general strike in 12 years

The walkout is expected to be Portugal’s largest since June 2013 amid action against a bill to simplify the firing process.Published On 11 Dec 2025Portugal is bracing for a widespread impact nationally from its first general strike in 12 years, as unions urge action against the centre-right minority government’s planned workers’ rights reforms.Heavy disruption is expected for public transport, schools, courts and hospitals on Thursday, as workers protest against a draft law aiming to simplify firing procedures, extend the length of fixed-term contracts and expand the minimum services required during a strike.Recommended Stories list of 4 itemslist 1 of 4‘Flames that consumed the hills’: Portugal, Spain reel from wildfireslist 2 of 4Photos: Deadly wildfires rage across Spain and Portugallist 3 of 4Portugal to recognise a Palestinian statelist 4 of 4Portugal holds day of mourning after Lisbon funicular accident kills 17end of listThe walkout is likely to be Portugal’s largest since June 2013, when the country was forced to gut public spending in exchange for international aid after being engulfed by a debt crisis that affected several European nations.Prime Minister Luis Montenegro has insisted that the labour reforms, with more than 100 measures, were intended to “stimulate economic growth and pay better salaries”.But the communist-leaning General Confederation of the Portuguese Worker (CGTP) and more moderate General Union of Workers (UGT) have lambasted the plans.The CGTP is organising about 20 demonstrations across the country. Its secretary-general, Tiago Oliveira, called the reforms “among the biggest attacks on the world of work”. He told the AFP news agency that the government action would “normalise job insecurity”, “deregulate working hours” and “make dismissals easier”.Of a working population of some five million people, about 1.3 million are already in insecure positions, Oliveira said.‘Already a success’Private sector unions are set to join the action.