The strike, called by the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Public Administration and Public Entities (Fesinap), which has minimum services in place, covers workers from all careers in the Public Administration.

The reasons for the strike are the immediate withdrawal of the proposed labour reform, a request for an urgent meeting with the Government on the "Work XXI" reform, an end to trade union discrimination practiced by the executive branch, and the effective participation of Fesinap in labour negotiations.

In statements to the Lusa news agency, the Secretary-General of Fesinap (Federation of Private Schools of Portugal) said that education, including teachers and non-teaching staff, and health, including doctors and nurses, “may be the sectors most affected following the strike.”

“The strike follows the labour package presented by the Government to the unions. In our view, this package represents a setback of more than 20 years in labour legislation, a delay for workers and future generations; in other words, it brings a lot of inconsistency, a lot of doubt, everything that will be bad for the labour market,” Mário Rui told Lusa news agency.

According to the Secretary-General of Fesinap, with this reform, Portuguese workers will become even more impoverished compared to their European colleagues.

“Therefore, the public administration will be on strike tomorrow [Friday]. We foresee significant disruption in practically all sectors. In schools, courts, hospitals, Social Security services, etc. It will be a strong signal for December 11th, the day of the general strike, and the 12th, because Fesinap will also present a strike notice for December 12th,” he said.

The union leader highlighted that minimum services have been decreed for all public institutions.

Mário Rui also stated that the strike also aims to denounce the union discrimination practiced by successive governments.

“We represent thousands of workers who do not identify with the union structures that regularly meet with the Government, I'm talking about UGT and CGTP. (…) For years we have tried to dialogue with the Government, but it has always prioritized dialogue with the central unions,” he said.

According to the Secretary-General of Fesinap, this stance by the Executive is "anti-democratic and incomprehensible."

"If this position by the Government is maintained, workers will take to the streets to demand their rights and the rights of their families. The Government needs to look at Fesinap differently; we have thousands of associated workers".