Engineers' anti-austerity strike closes 70% of Portuguese rail Network
Monday 01 October 2012
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EmailFollowing massive demonstrations at the weekend, Portuguese train engineers began five days of stoppages today against austerity measures that are wrecking the country's economy.
Rail company Comboios de Portugal said the strike stopped almost 70 per cent of trains into the capital today, with intercity and international services also severely disrupted.
The engineers are refusing to work the first two hours of each shift.
The National Engineers Union is demanding pay increases but is being told that state enterprises must cut back.
Portugal took on a €78 billion (£62bn) bailout last year and the lenders, known as the troika - the EU, European Central Bank and IMF, is driving the attack on workers' livelihoods throughout Europe.
In response to troika demands, the government will cutting overall spending by €40bn (£32bn) next year, freeze public-sector salaries and hack back viciously on jobs, while unemployment runs at over 15 per cent.
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