Around 500 professionals from the education sector gathered in Portimão today to demand more operational assistants in school kitchens and canteens, warning of the scarcity of resources and the impact on the quality of the service provided to students.
The initiative, promoted by the Union of All Education Professionals (), brought together teachers, operational assistants and technicians from the five groups of schools in the municipality, covering levels from pre-school to high school.
The protest began near the Escola Engenheiro Nuno Mergulhão, then continued through several streets of the city, culminating with a plenary session next to the Portimão City Council building.
During the concentration, participants displayed posters and chanted slogans, calling on the Portimão City Council and the Ministry of Education to “urgently hire” more professionals, as well as reduce the number of students per class, requalify schools and value workers in the sector.
Lack of resources worries the educational community
The lack of human resources “is a chronic and transversal problem throughout the country, which has worsened in recent years, but in the municipality of Portimão the problem is glaring”, teacher and union delegate, Cátia Cardoso, told Lusa.
“The canteens and cafeterias are in critical condition, where we have four lunch ladies to serve 600 meals, which reflects on the quality and delay in serving students,” he said.
The union leader said that the initiative aims to alert and demand “conditions for schools, not just more employees”, such as the reduction of students per class “and works, for the comfort of students”.
Cátia Cardoso states that the reduced number of workers, especially in kitchens and canteens, “compromises not only compliance with hygiene and food safety standards, but also the ability to respond daily to students’ needs”.
Canteens under pressure
“There are schools where one or two people have to provide the entire service, from preparation to cleaning, which is clearly insufficient”, he highlighted.
The union presented a strike notice for the period between May 4th and 8th aimed at operational assistants in cafeterias and canteens, but which covers all professionals, STOP director Daniel Martins told Lusa.
“We called the strike to demand more employees for schools in Portimão, but we may move forward with new forms of protest if there is no concrete response from the authorities in the near future”, he warned.
The union leader indicated that school professionals will reconvene on Monday at the Portimão City Council, the day on which a meeting between union representatives and the municipal executive is scheduled.
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