Can non-union members join the general strike? Does the worker have to inform the employer that he is going on strike? And can you be prevented from joining? Is strike day paid? Find out the answers to these and other questions.
CGTP and UGT called a general strike for this Thursday, December 11th, in view of the draft of the Government of which is being debated in the Social Concertation and targets areas such as parenting or contract terms.
What is the right to strike?
The right to strike is a inalienable rightand the Constitution of the Portuguese Republic provides that it is up to workers to “define the scope of interests to be defended through strike”, and cannot limit this right. However, the law defines “the conditions for the provision, during the strike, of services necessary for the safety and maintenance of equipment and installations, as well as minimum services essential to satisfy essential social needs”, and ‘lock-out’ is also prohibited.
Who has the powers to call a strike?
The Labor Code stipulates that recourse to strike is convened by trade union associations or, alternatively, by a company workers’ assembly“as long as the majority of workers are not represented by trade unions, the assembly is called for this purpose by 20% or 200 workers, the majority of workers participate in the vote and the deliberation is approved by secret vote by the majority of voters”.
Can non-union members join the general strike?
Sim, all workers can join the general strikeregardless of whether they are from the public or private sector.
For such, advance notice of strike must be issuedwhich must be addressed “to the employer, or to the association of employers, and to the ministry responsible for the labor area at least five working days in advance” or 10 working days in cases where they involve activities covered by minimum services.
Therefore, the prior notice of general strike presented by UGT and CGTP covers all employeeswhose unions are covered by it, regardless of the nature of the employment relationship that workers have and whether or not they are unionized.
In response to questions posed by Lusa, CGTP reinforces that the “strike advance notice covers workers and non-unions” and “from all sectors of activity”, so it is “completely irrelevant whether or not there is union representation in companies” or whether the workers are from independent unions.
“However, it is normal for unions, even affiliated ones, to issue their own strike notice or adhere to the CGTP-IN’s notice, as a way of expressing their adherence to the strike and, at the same time, giving workers an additional guarantee that they are in fact covered by the notices”, adds an official source.
Can a worker affiliated with a union join a strike called by another union?
Simas long as the strike “covers the company or sector of activity as well as the geographic scope of the company where the worker works, which, in the case of CGTP-IN’s advance notice, provides coverage to everyone”, according to an informative note published on the trade union central’s website.
Does the worker have to inform the employer that he is going on strike? And can you be prevented from joining?
Nono worker is obliged to inform his employer that he will go on strike, even if questioned in this sense. A employer cannot prevent workers from going on strikejust as you cannot coerce, discriminate or harm you by going on strike, with “an act by the employer that involves coercion of the worker not to join the strike, or that harms or discriminates against him for joining or not joining the strike being considered a very serious offence”.
Is the strike day paid?
Nothe strike “suspends the employment contract of the participating worker, including the right to remuneration and the duties of subordination and attendance”, points out the Labor Code.
Can the company temporarily hire workers to replace strikers?
Noby law the employer cannot, during the strike, “replace the strikers with people who, at the date of the notice, were not working in the respective establishment or service nor can, from that date, admit workers for that purpose”.
On the other hand, the task carried out by the worker on strike “cannot, during this period, be carried out by a company contracted for that purpose, except in the case of non-compliance with the minimum services necessary to satisfy essential social needs or the safety and maintenance of equipment and facilities and to the strictest extent necessary for the provision of these services”, and violation of these situations is considered a very serious offense.
What are the sectors covered by minimum services?
The Labor Code currently provides that in the event of a strike, minimum services are provided “in a company or establishment intended to satisfy essential social needs”, which include post and telecommunications; medical, hospital and medication services; public healthincluding the holding funerals; energy and mining servicesincluding the fuel supply.
Also included are water supply; firemen; public service services that ensure the satisfaction of essential needs whose provision is the responsibility of the State; transportincluding ports, airports, railway and trucking stations, relating to passengers, animals and perishable foodstuffs and goods essential to the national economy, covering their respective loading and unloading; and transportation and security of monetary values.
