Brief note on the May Day celebrations in Portugal
CGTP-IN’s May Day commemorations took place in 40 locations, from the north to the south of the country, including islands, with a massive participation of workers, pensioners and retired workers, the unemployed and the youth, in a clear signal of consciousness of the seriousness of the moment the country is undergoing.
Grandiose demonstrations were held in Lisbon and Porto, but also demonstrations and convivial and sports events, that marked the International Day of Workers in Álcacer do Sal, Alcanena, Angra do heroismo, Aveiro, Beja, Bragança, Casebres, Castelo Branco, Chaves, Coimbra, Covilhã, Ervidel, Évora, Faro, Figueira da Foz, Funchal, Grândola, Guarda, Guimarães, Horta, Lamego, Leiria, Mangualde, Montemor-o-Novo, Ourique, Pias, Ponta Delgada, Portalegre, Santa Susana, Santarém, Setúbal, Torres Vedras, Tortosendo, Vendas Novas, Viana do Castelo, Vila Real, Viseu.
Forty years after the April Revolution and the memorable day of struggle on May 1st following the overthrow of fascism, in which the worker’s movement and the people united and indelibly marked the course of the Portuguese Revolution, the day of struggle of the Portuguese people was a clear response to the impoverishment of the country and the attacks on their rights perpetrated by right-wing policies, reclaiming the fulfillment of the values of April and making this year’s May 1st the largest in recent history.
In the various CGTP-IN actions pointed towards an unrelenting struggle of the workers in their workplaces and in the streets throughout this month. Several struggles were saluted: in Amarsul, in INCM and the Panasqueira mines; a week of struggle for inclusive education, promoted by Fenprof until the 10th; a strike in DURA, from the 8th until the 16th; a strike in GSET and the demonstrations in Strong, on the 7 th and 8 th; the strike in Cel-Cat, on the 9 th; the national demonstration of local administration workers, in the 9 th in Lisbon; the strikes in CP, CP Carga and Refer, on the 8th , and in TST and the Transdev Group, on the 15th.
The institution of a national minimum wage, on May 27th, 1974, will frame a large action, centered in the workplaces, in the week of 26th to 31st of this month, demanding the minimum wage increase to 515 euros starting June 1st.
Two large demonstrations were also announced, on June 14th in Porto and June 21st in Lisbon, as moments of confluence of the most urging demands of the workers and united trade-union movement.
