Lisbon hospitality workers launch door-to-door protests

The South Hospitality Union (Sindicato de Hotelaria do Sul) is launching a “door-to-door” protest campaign targeting major hotels along Lisbon’s Avenida da Liberdade. The initiative, titled the “Hotel Route,” is part of a national campaign by FESAHT to protest low wages and demand the negotiation of collective bargaining agreements within the hospitality, restaurant, and tourism sectors.

The protest is also part of the CGTP-IN ‘Month of Action, Mobilization, and Struggle.’ Union leaders and workers plan to approach guests and clients at hotels associated with the Portuguese Hotel Association (AHP) to denounce working conditions and urge hotel groups to intervene with the employers' association.

Union representatives highlight a contradiction in the industry: while tourism revenues increased by 6% in May compared to the previous year, these gains have not improved living or working conditions for employees. Workers in these sectors remain among the lowest paid in Portugal, with a high reliance on the national minimum wage. Furthermore, the Collective Labor Agreement (CCT) for hotels in the Center-South region has reportedly been blocked since 2004 due to the AHP’s unavailability to advance negotiations.