The demonstration began with a gathering at Marquês Pombal at 11am, from where the nurses marched towards Praça dos Restauradores, to the sound of drums and chanting slogans such as "Solving is what matters, we are fed up with talk", "Government listens, nurses are fighting", "We want training, we demand appreciation" and "With the pandemic the hiring is already late".

The nurses marched orderly along Avenida da Liberdade, complying with the safety measures against Covid-19, all wearing masks and keeping a distance from each other, holding banners with pictures of nurses and with messages such as "Single Career" or "We are not disposable".

Throughout the parade, accompanied by PSP agents, who cut off traffic as the demonstrators pass, the nurses with red and blue flags from the Portuguese Nurses Union (SEP) paused and repeated the slogans chanted by union members.

A police source told Lusa news agency that about 300 nurses are present at the protest.

The demonstration is promoted by the Portuguese Nurses Union which thus marks the International Nurses Day, demanding the Government "urgent solutions" to the problems of these health professionals and the profession.

At the demonstration, each nurse present has "a story of commitment and responsibility, but also of revolt and demotivation" to tell, according to the SEP.

The nurses state that "the Government maintains the injustice of not advancing 20 thousand nurses and promotes others" such as the "systematic deregulation of working hours", "precarious hiring" and "the increase of work contexts to which nurses have to respond without increasing the number of staff".