TENS of thousands of teachers from across Portugal joined a protest in Lisbon yesterday, after several days of industrial action for better working conditions and higher pay.

Police said more than 20,000 people joined the march, called by the Union of All Education Professionals (STOP), the Lusa news agency reported, but organisers put the numbers at “more than 100,000”.

The teachers were also protesting a reform that provides for a “decentralisation” of the recruitment process, with greater autonomy for institutions.

Yesterday’s protest follows a series of partial strikes since the start of December which have led to the closure of several schools.

They want a wage increase to keep pace with inflation, which reached an average of 7.8% in 2022, the highest level in 30 years. They also want their real working hours to be taken into account.

From Monday, the main teachers’ union FENPROF has called a fresh wave of strikes, rotating by region, starting in Lisbon, which will end with a national demonstration on February 11.

Denouncing the new strikes starting next week, Education Minister Joao Costa described the action as “atypical, disproportionate and radical in the middle of a negotiation process”.

The minister is set to meet the unions for fresh talks on Wednesday. – AFP, January 15, 2023.