Portugal’s General Strike
Portugal’s right-wing government is extending the anti-labor agenda it pushed during the austerity era. A 3-million-strong general strike on December 11 showed a resilient working-class response.
Demonstrators rally in front of Portuguese parliament in Lisbon, December 11, 2025. (PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA / AFP via Getty Images)
December 11 saw a massive general strike in Portugal. This was not just a workplace dispute but a political strike, directed against the government’s planned labor reform.
Trade unions widely see this as a devaluation of labor and a profound attack on labor rights — in short, a class offensive. The massive participation in the strike shows that workers felt this way too.
Austerity Years
The bill, often referred to as the labor reform package, was proposed by the current right-wing government, which unites the Social Democratic Party (PSD) and the CDS–People’s Party (CDS-PP). It introduces over one hundred regressive amendments to labor law, clearly aimed at shifting the balance of power in favor of employers.
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