Thousands of private and public employees, from all over Portugal, demonstrated in Lisbon today demanding wage increases and measures to tackle the high cost of living.

“The cost of living is unbearable” and “It is unacceptable to get poor while working,” chanted those who marched on the main avenue of the capital.

“The situation is really difficult,” commented Inacio Katela, 61, from Torres Ventras, which is about 60 kilometers from Lisbon. “We need to give a new boost to our jobs, our careers and our salaries,” explained Raquel Silva, 42, an administrator at a hospital in central Portugal.

This demonstration took place at the initiative of the General Confederation of Workers (CGTP), one day after the general strike in the public sector demanding higher wages. The CGTP is also calling for a hold on the prices of essential goods, an end to rent and mortgage rises, and measures to tackle job insecurity.

In 2022 inflation reached 7.8%, its highest level in the last 30 years.

“We demand increases, but real increases, above inflation, to regain and strengthen the purchasing power of families,” CGTP Secretary General Isabel Camarinha said to the protesters. “We want increases of at least 10% and no less than 100 euros for all employees,” he added.