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Strikers bring Portugal to halt
LISBON, Portugal -- A 24-hour strike by transport and public service workers over proposed labour law changes brought much of Portugal to a halt. Striking workers halted public transport and hospitals, schools, government offices and postal services were disrupted, union and company officials said. The one-day strike was called by the 800,000-member General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP) partly in protest against the centre-right government's economic policies and proposed new labour rules. The new code, supported by Prime Minister Jose Manuel Durao Barroso, would loosen one of Europe's most rigid set of labour laws and make it easier to hire and fire workers. But it is also the latest in a wave of unrest against Western European governments' efforts to cut jobs, sell-off state companies and revamp work rules and pensions. CGTP chief Manuel Carvalho da Silva said almost 90 percent of the federation's members had taken action. "This is a general strike that should make management and the government stop and think," he told a news conference. But Labour Minister Antonio Bagao Felix called the stoppage a "pseudo-general strike" with only 13 percent participation. In Lisbon, many shops and restaurants, bright with Christmas decorations, were open. Commuters lined up at roadsides to pile into taxis and private buses paid for by the government. "I don't think this strike is called for, since there are other ways to talk and reach agreement on such an important law as the labour law," office worker Paulo Sousa told Reuters. All Portuguese rail services stopped at noon on Monday as train drivers began the strike early. Workers at Portugal's two biggest oil refineries also downed tools on Monday and remained on strike on Tuesday. Portuguese government workers last month launched their first general strike in 10 years to protest over economic policies. The one-day strike paralysed public transport, hospitals, refuse collection, clinics, fire services and schools and government offices. In March the centre-right Social Democrats narrowly ousted the incumbent Socialist party by 40.12 percent of the votes compared to 37.85 percent -- returning to power after a six-year absence. The CGTP has discussed a joint strike with the General Union of Workers (UGT), Portugal's other main labour federation. The UGT said it would decide on its own strike once the new labour code arrived in parliament.
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