The concierge and security workers at the 38 facilities managed by the public company Museus e Monumentos de Portugal (MMP) will return to strike as part of the holiday work stoppage that has been ongoing throughout the year, called by the National Federation of Public and Social Service Workers' Unions (FNSTFPS).

Holiday strikes have closed several museums and monuments across the country, including some of Portugal's most visited.

Contacted by Lusa news agency, Orlando Almeida, director of the FNSTFPS, noted that, "since the last meeting with the Minister of Culture, Youth and Sports [Margarida Balseiro Lopes] and with the MMP board of directors on July 15th, no proposal has emerged for the workers to consider."

"We are still waiting for the resolution of a problem we presented to the ministry over a year ago," the director said, adding that, after the meeting with the minister, "some hope of a short-term proposal arose, but it has not yet happened."

Contacted by Lusa news agency by email about this strike, the communications department of the public company MMP responded: "At this stage, we have no further comment on the process, and we continue to work and maintain close dialogue."

Workers at museums, monuments, and archaeological sites managed by the MMP are demanding "fair compensation" for work performed on holidays and also for overtime, which they consider insufficiently paid, and only up to two hours of overtime, although they sometimes have to work more than that in total, they argue.

In a statement released before the last strike on August 15, the FNSTFPS stated that, "in 2024, the 38 facilities of the Museums and Monuments of Portugal had ticket revenue of €21,217,432.00," obtained from "tourism and study visits organized by schools, confirming the central role of heritage in culture."

"This problem has been dragging on for years, without successive PSD and PS governments, with or without CDS, taking a decision to value work performed on holidays," they further argued in the statement.

The 38 museums, monuments, and national palaces managed by the MMP, including the Mafra National Palace, the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower (Lisbon), and the Convent of Christ (Tomar), employ around a thousand people, union leader Orlando Almeida estimated in April.

In a statement shared on its website regarding the strike, the MMP warned of possible "disruptions in access to museums and monuments" managed by the public company and reminded that tickets already purchased could be exchanged or refunded by submitting a request to Blueticket.

"We regret any inconvenience caused and thank you for your understanding," the MMP wrote.