General strike against the ‘Pacote Laboral’

The European Office of the WFTU (Eurof) salutes the Portuguese workers who will strike on 11 December against the ‘labour package’ prepared by the Portuguese government in accordance with the European Union’s austerity principles, which are being implemented across Europe.

The Portuguese ‘labour package’ reflects all the measures that European governments are deciding on against the working class, including increased working hours, easier dismissals, attacks on the right to strike and collective bargaining, job insecurity and welfare cuts. These measures have already led to general strikes with large numbers of participants in Italy, Greece and France.

The European Union’s strategy of attacking the fundamental rights of the working class to give itself a free hand in supporting businesses and general rearmament at the expense of people’s social and wage needs is clear.

We wish the general strike on 11 December every success, as it is a necessary response to stop the Portuguese government’s plans and obtain the immediate withdrawal of the measures contained in the ‘labour package’.

09/12/2025

𝗣𝗔𝗠𝗘 𝘀𝗮𝗹𝘂𝘁𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗻 𝗗𝗲𝗰𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿 𝟭𝟭 𝗶𝗻 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗴𝗮𝗹

PAME salutes the general strike on December 11, called by the General Confederation of Workers of Portugal (CGTP-IN), in response to the anti-people and anti-worker bill promoted by the government of the country. The bill further facilitates dismissals “for just cause,” loosens restrictions on subcontracting, and introduces new tools for intensifying exploitation, such as “individual working-time banks,” which allow overtime to increase by up to 2 hours per day and 150 hours per year, paving the way for even more flexible and exhausting work schedules.

The attack on workers’ rights, on collective agreements, on wages, and on working time is not a Portuguese phenomenon. The same scenario is unfolding throughout the EU. A joint offensive is underway against the working class in the name of competitiveness and the profitability of capital, within the framework of the war economy and the EU’s permanent memoranda, implemented by all governments, whether they call themselves center-right, social-democratic, or “progressive.”

In this attack, governments are not alone. Their partners are the employer-aligned and government-aligned trade union bureaucracies, such as the ETUC in Europe and the compromised GSEE in Greece, which went so far as to sign, at the request of the government and the employers, the shameful agreement on Collective Agreements, celebrating as “progress” the complete surrender of Collective Bargaining to the needs dictated by business profits.

In Greece, the massive strikes of October 1 and 14 against the 13-hour workday showed that the anti-worker offensive can be halted and that the path can be opened for Collective Agreements with wage increases and for the 7-hour day – 5-day week – 35-hour week. The farmers’ mobilizations and the roadblocks now being set up again across the country show that the united struggle of workers and farmers can become a decisive force for overturning anti-people policies.

For the working class, there is no other road than organization in the unions and struggle. This is demonstrated by the major strike battles across Europ, in Italy, France, Greece, and elsewhere, against 13-hour workdays, against the commercialization of Health and Education, against poverty, against war and the genocide of the Palestinian people by the murderous Israeli state, and against the authoritarianism and war economy being built by EU governments on behalf of the business groups.

PAME and the trade unions of Greece stand firmly by the side of the workers of Portugal and wish every success for the December 11 strike, so that it becomes yet another milestone in the struggle against the anti-people offensive of governments, the EU, and the monopolies.

𝗦𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗮 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗦𝘁𝗿𝗶𝗸𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝗣𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗲𝗿𝘀

Dear comrades,

The United Trade Unions of Serbia “Sloga” express full solidarity and provide unreserved support to the General strike of Portuguese workers against “Pacota Laboral”.

In solidarity,

Sloga

𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗱𝗲 𝗨𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝘀𝘀𝗼𝗰𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝗕𝗼𝗵𝗲𝗺𝗶𝗮, 𝗠𝗼𝗿𝗮𝘃𝗶𝗮 & 𝗦𝗶𝗹𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗮 (𝗢𝗦𝗖̌𝗠𝗦)

Dear Comrades,
Trade Union Association of Bohemia, Moravia & Silesia (OSČMS) gives you our
solidarity with the general strike in Portugal (see attached).
Fraternally
Vladimir Sedlacerk
responsible for the OSČMS international relations