Luís Gonçalves da Silva clarifies employment-related questions regarding the general strike
The first general strike in 12 years has been scheduled for 11 December. It is expected to affect several sectors and raises various employment-related questions. Asked by CNN Portugal whether the conditions for going on strike are the same for a public sector employee and a worker in a private company, Luís Gonçalves da Silva clarifies that “any worker, as long as their activity falls within the scope of the strike, may join it”.
The Abreu Advogados of counsel adds that anyone who goes on strike loses their salary and meal allowance for that day, but cannot be subject to any disciplinary sanction for taking part, nor can they be obliged to make up the work later: “That would amount to a sanction, which would render the act unlawful,” he states.
Luís Gonçalves da Silva also clarifies that the right to strike does not extend to the armed forces and militarised forces, magistrates, firefighters, police officers and prison guards, with the minimum services regime applying to all other sectors. Once established, minimum services are compulsory, and failure to provide them carries sanctions that may, at most, lead to dismissal. Disciplinary consequences follow the parameters set out in the Labour Code and, according to Luís Gonçalves da Silva, “it must be a particularly serious situation” for dismissal to occur.
Read the full articles on employment-related questions and minimum services.
