Portuguese unions schedule eight strikes in October ahead of 2027 State Budget delivery

Public sector mobilization

Portuguese trade unions have scheduled eight strikes and at least seven protest actions throughout October 2026 to demand higher wages and career recognition. The wave of labor action begins on Friday, 2 October, with a national walkout called by three unions affiliated with the General Confederation of the Portuguese Workers (CGTP). The strike involves the National Federation of Public and Social Employees (FNSTFPS), the National Union of Local and Regional Administration Workers (STAL), and the Lisbon Municipal Workers Union (STML). Union leaders project that the stoppage will mobilize up to 350,000 senior technicians, technical assistants, and operational assistants across central, regional, and local government. The action will affect public schools, municipal waste collection, Social Security counters, and citizen service desks across the country. Meanwhile, the Public Administration Trade Union Federation (FESAP) opposes government plans to postpone the review of general careers to 2027.

Transport and migration services

The transport and civil service sectors will broaden the protest calendar during the first week of the month. Ground-handling company Synchro will face industrial action on 2 October, while cabin crew members at easyJet Portugal will start a five-day strike running from 2 October through 6 October. Baggage handlers and ground workers at airline SATA have also planned protests over working conditions. On 6 October, staff at the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum (AIMA) will stage a walkout to demand the formal establishment and recognition of an agency-specific career structure. These coordinated actions will coincide with the final cabinet preparations for the 2027 State Budget proposal. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro's government plans to submit the budget document to parliament on 9 October, ahead of the statutory deadline on 12 October.

Education sector disruptions

The education sector will hold three separate strikes in October as teachers, operational staff, and specialized technicians protest heavy workloads. A preliminary walkout will take place at the end of the first week of October, followed by an extended four-day stoppage organized by the National Teachers Federation (Fenprof) from 6 to 9 October. A third education strike is scheduled for 19 October to address mandatory overtime and staff shortages. Data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) indicates that Portuguese teachers experience high levels of job dissatisfaction, particularly concerning compensation. Portugal currently has the oldest teaching workforce in the OECD, with only 6% of educators younger than 35 years old and 38% aged 55 or older. Minister of Education Fernando Alexandre announced 15 new partnership contracts with universities worth 28 million euros to train future teachers, noting that 6,043 new instructors entered the system and 3,000 delayed retirement last year.

Banking protests and political response

Financial sector workers will join the labor actions shortly after the government delivers its budget proposal. Banking trade unions will launch protests on 10 October to oppose a proposed 2% salary increase, setting up a planned nationwide banking strike on 30 November. On 17 October, the CGTP union confederation will organize street demonstrations in Lisbon to demand broader wage adjustments across the economy. During a parliamentary broadcast on the labor mobilization, Socialist Party deputy Miguel Costa Matos pointed to a sharp rise in strike frequency over the past year.

If we look at this year's statistics, we see that there is an increase of 60%, up to this month, in the number of strikes compared to the same period last year.

Social Democratic Party deputy Marco Claudino and Chega deputy Bruno Nunes will take part in legislative debates as the government defends its existing multi-year salary framework through 2029.