At the beginning of December, the Executive led by Luís Montenegro suspended negotiations with the firefighters, accusing them of exerting illegitimate pressure, with a protest that included firecrackers, torches and smoke near the government headquarters.
The first meeting between the Government and some of the firefighter unions ended this Friday with the union structures saying at the end of the meeting that they will analyze the latest proposal.
The five unions that presented a joint proposal to the Secretariat of State for Local Administration and Spatial Planning met at the government headquarters building, in Lisbon, for around three hours.
At the end of the meeting, they only said that the government does not intend to continue the meetings and that they will now study the proposal, refusing further statements and pointing to a decision that will be announced in a statement later today.
After the meeting with the five unions – National Union of Professional Firefighters (SNBP), Public Administration Workers’ Union (SINTAP), Lisbon Municipal Workers’ Union (STML), National Union of Local and Regional Administration Workers (STAL) and Common Front -, the Government is now meeting with the National Union of Firefighters Sapadores (SNBS).
Government has exhausted its negotiating capacity
The Prime Minister warned on Thursday that the Government has exhausted its negotiating capacity with the entities representing firefighters and that it will move forward unilaterally without taking into account the most recent approaches if the impasse persists.
At the entrance to the building where the negotiation meetings take place, the president of SNBS, Ricardo Cunha, once again said that if the government presents the same proposal, “there will be no agreement” and highlighted that “there is no transparency” in this negotiation process.
The union leader also admitted that a return to protests, if there is no agreement between the parties, “is always on the table”.
At the last meeting, the Government put forward a proposal that did not please any of the unions and which included phased increases until 2027.
What does the Government propose?
For example, the Government proposed that a firefighter, after the first year of probation, receives 1,222 euros this year, 1,175 euros in 2026 and 1,228 euros in 2027.
At this point, the unions want the increases to be brought forward to 2026.
The Government agreed to maintain the current seven categories in the special career – unlike the five categories in the previous proposal – and maintain the current 35 hours of work per week – unlike the 40 hours proposed in December last year.
The Government also proposed a single supplement, contrary to what it had proposed at the last meeting, on December 3rd. This additional amount would be 20% of each worker’s base salary with a staggered increase – 10% in 2025, 5% in 2026 and 5% in 2027.
At the beginning of December, the Executive accusing them of applying illegitimate pressure, with a protest that included firecrackers, torches and smoke near the Government headquarters.
With LUSA
