Tourists in central Lisbon were surprised this Saturday by the thousands who took part in the CGTP demonstration, from Cais do Sodré to Rossio, and by the clamor of dozens of slogans against the rise in the cost of living. The secretary-general of the union headquarters, Isabel Camarinha, who led the demonstration, was the spokesman for the call for a “national emergency” for an increase in salaries and pensions. And with the promise of new struggles, such as the general strike announced yesterday by the Joint Front of Public Administration Trade Unions for November 18.
“The cost of living is rising, the people can’t stand it / for the bosses there are thousands, for salaries not a cent / we cannot accept that we are impoverished by working” – the union speakers shouted in a slow parade at Cais de Sodré , Rua do Alfaiate, Rua do Gold to Rossio. Batucando, a percussion group from Montijo, paved the way. But if few Portuguese were on the streets to hear the CGTP’s call, judging by the images of tourists, it must have had a big impact on social networks in different countries.
On stage in Rossio, next to the D. Maria II theatre, Isabel Camarinha rebelled against “the brutal rise in the cost of living, accompanied by speculation and the colossal profits of big business,” she said. “It is the result of an option of the government and right-wing politics.
The CGTP’s secretary general targeted the state budget for 2023, demanding “already an interim increase in salaries and the immediate update of the national minimum wage”. The claim concerns an interim increase this year and for the next 10%, with a minimum of 100 euros and the increase of the SMN to 800 euros in 2022 and to 850 euros in 2023. “Because the 760 the government wants means 677 net, and it’s time to end the wage misery.”
“To those who say it’s a lot, that an inflation spiral is coming, we say that the so-called spiral is already there, that it is unbearable, that essential goods and services are starting to be missing (…) we don’t have it about luxury, we are talking about the foundation that makes it possible to live with dignity, which allows for the personal fulfillment of everyone, of their children and family,” he confirmed.
The union official also pointed to the “cheat” of cutting pensions and also asked for an increase for retirees and retirees, although she did not quantify it.
And because the CGTP did not sign the Social Dialogue Agreement, the CGTP leader explained: “The agreement lacks measures that really open the door to salary increases, it lacks measures to repeal the strict standards of the labor law”.
Jerome absent
Camarinha’s calls and claims were heard very discreetly by his predecessor, Arménio Carlos, who remained outside the demonstration. But also former communist deputy António Filipe and PCP leader Francisco Lopes accompanied him.
The communist leader, Jerónimo de Sousa, who attends all the demonstrations of the union center concerning the PCP, could not attend because “he had a specific health problem, without seriousness”.
Along with the demonstration, the deputy Mariana Mortágua hoped that “mobilizations like this will multiply”.
Mortágua criticized the idea propagated by Finance Minister Fernando Medina that people “need to be impoverished” and that “this is inevitable” in order to overcome the socio-economic crisis caused by rising inflation.
And he drew a parallel with the government of Social Democrat Pedro Passos Coelho: “It was a lie in the days of the Troika and it still is.” The BE leader added that “people are entitled to a decent wage”, without losing “purchasing power with each passing day”.
That was exactly the message the CGTP had set up in a van parked right in front of the Cais do Sodré station. Four barrels, simulating oil, and with an estimated profit, one for Santander of 241 billion euros; another for Galp of 420 billion; another for EDP, of 306 billion; and finally one for Pingo Doce, of the Jerónimo Martins group, of 261 billion.
Source: DN
