AHRESP has accused the government of “refusing to acknowledge that meals provided by schools are an imperative social need, meaning that with every strike our children are deprived of food.”
This, AHRESP claims, is happening at a time when “many families are going through financial difficulties that are reflected in food shortages affecting thousands of children.”
“If the children are our future, shouldn’t feeding them be a priority?” the association fired, while stressing: “It is urgent to guarantee minimum services in school canteens and refectories.”
In a statement sent to the media, AHRESP lamented that “for many children, school meals are the only meal of the day.”
“We know that many School Services have asked our associated businesses to reinforce certain meals. What we don’t understand, and certainly don’t accept, is that the Government, in the event of a strike, does not stipulate the necessary minimum services to keep school canteens and refectories running.”
Describing the situation as “dramatic,” the association explained that “during strike action a child can spend a whole day at school without being given any food, even though that meal is often already paid for.”
AHRESP has asked the government to “reconsider this position and, once and for all, correct this understanding so that during strikes the minimum services are defined for these situations.”
It wrapped up its statement by saying that school canteens and refectories provide “an invaluable service to our students, meeting a basic need and right, which is the right to food.”
In November last year, four schools in the Viseu area kept to the normal school timetable despite canteen workers staging action, meaning no lunch would be served.
The union representing the workers launched proceedings against the heads of the schools in question, accusing them of boycotting the action.
AHRESP argued that the need for canteens to stay open during school holidays – so disadvantaged children can eat when schools are traditionally closed – has already been noted.
A child’s fundamental human right to a meal should, the association concluded, supersede the right to strike.
Last summer, and with the exception of the month of August, Lisbon town hall alone kept 89 school canteens open during the summer holidays, providing meals to more than five thousand hungry children.