“I heard from the news that there would be participation in the strike from two unions, one of doctors and the other of nurses, and we will naturally do what is also foreseen in the law,” that is, “guarantee minimum services,” said the minister.

Despite acknowledging the impact of previous strikes, the minister said that “minimum services” have been ensured, praising the collaboration of healthcare professionals.

“We managed to maintain minimum services and we managed to negotiate, and people cooperate. Healthcare professionals have a great deal of civic awareness, and we see this when we have a pandemic, a catastrophe, an accident, or a blackout; in the most disruptive situations, healthcare professionals never fail when called upon,” she emphasised.

However, according to the Minister of Health, in a strike “of this magnitude,” scheduled situations, such as surgeries and consultations, are affected.

The Portuguese Nurses Union (SEP) announced in a statement its adherence to the general strike, one day after the National Federation of Doctors (Fnam) unanimously approved, during a congress, a motion of support for this strike.

Asked whether this strike might signal a failure in the effort to make this profession more attractive, Ana Paula Martins assured that she is “working tirelessly with the unions” with whom the Government has agreements.

“At this moment we are practically in the final stages of work with the Senior Health Technicians, the Senior Diagnostic and Therapeutic Technicians, the Hospital Administrators, and [working on] the collective agreement with nurses, as well as some improvements within the agreements we made with other professions,” she emphasized.

She added that the Government will not “give up on continuing to dialogue with the unions and professionals to respond to these challenges related to human resources.”

The general strike was announced on the 8th by the general secretary of the CGTP, Tiago Oliveira, at the end of the national march against the labour package, which led thousands of workers to march down Avenida da Liberdade in Lisbon, protesting against the changes proposed by the Luís Montenegro government.

On Thursday, the UGT unanimously approved the decision to move forward in convergence with the CGTP, thus including the favourable vote of the Social Democratic Workers (TSD).