“The strike is seeing high participation. We have services that are 100% closed, and we expect participation to reach 80% by 3:00 pm, which is when shifts change,” union president Mário Rui told Lusa during a gathering at 10:30 am in front of the Professor Doutor Fernando Fonseca Hospital (part of the Amadora-Sintra Local Health Unit, or ULS).

According to the union leader, services such as outpatient consultations and X-rays are being affected.

STTS Vice-President Diogo Mendes told Lusa that at Santa Maria Hospital in Lisbon, operating rooms for scheduled surgeries are closed, while at Pulido Valente Hospital—also part of the Santa Maria ULS—ambulatory surgery services are not operating.

Regulation demands

The STTS called for a 24-hour strike today for all healthcare professionals it represents, including doctors, nurses, health assistants, technical assistants, and operational assistants.

The union demands the restoration of points workers previously earned under the Integrated Public Administration Performance Management and Evaluation System (Siadap).

Other demands include regularising Siadap evaluations for the 2021/2022 and 2023/2024 two-year periods and the year 2025, as well as hiring more professionals to prevent the “abuse of extra shifts and 14- to 16-hour continuous work schedules.” In addition to the STTS, three other civil service union bodies affiliated with the CGTP have called a strike today for general career staff, demanding better recognition for these professionals—described as “the lowest-paid in the public administration.”

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