Portugal faces union backlash over emergency service overhaul and labour package reforms

Portugal’s pre‑hospital emergency service (INEM) is under fire from the Union of Pre‑Hospital Emergency Technicians (STEPH) and a workers’ commission. They denounce the government’s plan to create a pool of 40 ambulances for critical patients as a “fallacy”, arguing it actually removes 56 ambulances from emergency response and leaves only 39 units for inter‑hospital transport. The unions warn the changes could dismantle INEM’s capacity and make an eight‑minute response time unrealistic, echoing criticisms from former INEM presidents.

At the same time, the Union of Local Administration Workers (STAL) announced that its members will join a nationwide general strike on 3 June. The strike opposes a government‑backed “labour package” with more than 100 alterations that unions say increase exploitation, cut wages, threaten job security and limit collective bargaining. The move targets the PSD‑CDS government, which is supported by Chega and IL, and follows the cabinet’s recent approval of the labour law revision, set to be debated in parliament.