“We inform you that, due to the strike, the transportation service is scheduled to be halted and the Metro stations closed between 6:30 AM on December 11th and 1:00 AM on December 12th. Service will be normalized from 6:30 AM on December 12th,” stated a note published on the company's website.

The CGTP and UGT unions decided to call a general strike for December 11th in response to the draft law on labour law reform presented by the Government.

Unlike the services of Carris (Lisbon's public transport company) and trains, which must provide minimum services, the Arbitration Tribunal of the Economic and Social Council (CES) unanimously decided "not to establish minimum services regarding the circulation of trains" on the Lisbon Metro, a decision that the company announced it will appeal.

In a statement released on Monday, Lisbon Metro considered that the decision not to establish minimum services has a "particularly serious impact" and compromises "the satisfaction of the essential mobility needs of citizens" in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, underlining the "structuring role" it plays in public transport.

"The Lisbon Metro reaffirms that it is possible to reconcile the exercise of the right to strike with the guarantee of a minimum level of safe, reliable and predictable mobility," it stated.

The company also reiterated that the defense of the public interest, the safety of customers and the continuity of service "constitute structuring and permanent principles of its actions."

On Thursday, the CGTP (General Confederation of Portuguese Workers) has planned protest actions in 15 districts in the Azores and Madeira.

The changes foreseen in the government's proposed labour law reform target various areas, such as parental leave, dismissals, extension of contract terms, and sectors that will be covered by minimum services in case of a strike.

Called "Work XXI," the proposal was presented by the Government as a "deep" revision of labour legislation, contemplating the revision of "more than a hundred" articles of the CLT (Consolidation of Labour Laws).

Faced with criticism from the two main trade union confederations, the Government submitted a new proposal to the UGT (General Union of Workers) with some concessions, for example, dropping the simplification of dismissals in medium-sized companies, but maintaining the return of the individual time bank system and the repeal of the rule that restricts outsourcing in case of dismissal, according to the document first reported by the Público newspaper.

This will be the first strike to bring together CGTP and UGT since June 2013, when Portugal was under the intervention of the 'troika'.