Public sector strike closes schools and health centres across the Azores
Azores GuideUnions put turnout on the islands at around 70%. Workers want a tax-free meal card and a new performance assessment system, and further protests are set for 30 November and 2 December.
Public administration workers held a 24-hour strike on Monday, from 00:00 to 23:59. In the Azores many schools were closed, some health centres shut and hospitals worked on minimum services, Açoriano Oriental and RTP Açores report.
The STTS, the national union of workers in services and public-purpose entities, called the strike. It covers central, regional and local administration. Education and health were the sectors most affected.
STTS president Mário Rui Cunha told Açoriano Oriental that turnout in the Azores was around 70%. Rádio Atlântida also reported 70% on the islands. At 09:00 the union had put turnout at 60% across the country, islands included.
Medical appointments were postponed, according to the Lusa news agency. RTP Açores reports that Social Security services ran on minimum services. The union said chemotherapy, immunotherapy, haemodialysis and blood donation continued in the Local Health Units.
Cunha said strike notices sent to the Regional Government of the Azores did not reach schools and health workplaces, and that union members handed them out in person. Diogo Nina, vice-president of the FESINAP federation, told Rádio Atlântida that some sectors in the Azores had hidden the notices from workers since the previous Thursday and pressured them.
The demands include a tax-free meal card worth 10.20 euros a day, a revision of SIADAP, the public administration performance assessment system, and a risk allowance for health auxiliary technicians. In education, the STTS wants a career of educational auxiliary technician created.
According to Nina, FESINAP has about 300 members in the Azores, and the strike covers all workers regardless of contract or union membership. He said further protests are scheduled for 30 November and 2 December.
Sources
Azores Guide
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