The 24-hour strike, called by the National Union of Workers in Local and Regional Administration, Public Companies, Concessionaires, and Related Services (STAL), will be preceded by plenary sessions in front of the city halls of Barreiro, Bragança, Coimbra, Nazaré, Portalegre, and Sintra, whose employees are expected to join the strike.

"The plenary sessions won't affect all services, but they should naturally affect something," Cristina Torres, president of the STAL, told Lusa news agency, acknowledging the expectation of "a large turnout of workers" for the strike scheduled for the day before next Sunday's local elections.

According to the STAL, the date was strategically chosen "for workers to alert mayors and candidates to the need to see their long-declared problems resolved." Among them is the devaluation of the profession—notably for workers who perform the functions of Sole Agents and those in workshops who work as mechanics—whose specific career paths were, in 2008, integrated into the general career path of Operational Assistant.

With this integration, "careers were destroyed," Cristina Torres told Lusa news agency, noting that until then, these workers "were sole agents" and later became part of "that large mass of people they call operational assistants, which includes everyone, including public transportation drivers."

Until 2008, "when [these workers] applied for and entered municipal staff as sole agents, their starting salary was more than 200 euros below the base salary for a career in Public Administration," said the president of STAL, highlighting the difference in current conditions, where "everyone enters through the base salary of operational assistant," even though these professionals "drive, transport passengers, and the level of responsibility is indeed high, requiring specific training, handling money—in short, a set of responsibilities."

STAL submitted proposals to the government for the recovery and valorization of these professions and, in the absence of solutions, held a plenary meeting in September where the October 10th strike was decided.

"Workers are aware that the solution to this problem is in the hands of the Government," which, according to Cristina Torres, has shown itself "very willing to sit down and negotiate during discussions." However, the meeting scheduled last week with the Secretary of State for Public Administration and the Secretary of State for Local Administration was "canceled by the Ministry's services," she said.

Workers now want to "raise awareness among local authorities, which are responsible for ensuring transportation for their residents and, therefore, also need those workers to be valued so that transportation is provided under proper conditions and to the satisfaction of the population," she added.

In a statement, STAL reported that workers are demanding the maintenance of municipal or municipalized public transportation services; the reinstatement of professional careers, especially that of Sole Agent in municipalized transportation; a salary increase of no less than 15%, to a minimum of 150 euros; an increase in the meal allowance to 10.50 euros per day; the granting of the Hardship and Unhealthiness Supplement; respect for the full enjoyment of vacation days and the improvement of working conditions.