SNS24 operators lose part of their salary during breaks to eat or go to the bathroom

Several professionals who preferred to remain anonymous report that time spent on basic needs is deducted from their remuneration. They consider that this practice is unsustainable and highlights a work model marked by precariousness.

The workers accuse the company of basing the provision of services on a precarious regimecharacterized by a lack of autonomy, high pressure and increasing physical and psychological exhaustion.

According to , in addition to unpaid breaks, professionals also contest the employment relationship. They claim that they perform functions as service providers, through green receipts, but they follow schedules defined by the company and are subject to a work organization similar to that of contract workers.

Workers receive ten euros gross per hour, a value that rises to eleven euros in person. Because they work at green receiptsdo not have the right to paid vacation, benefits or the right to strike.

Initial training to join the SNS24 line lasts for four daysfor a total of 28 hours, part of which was dedicated to Meo, a telecommunications operator owned by Altice.

“If I want to stop for half an hour to eat, these minutes are not paid. This means that professionals often work for seven or eight hours straight, without going to the bathroom or even eating,” one of the workers revealed to JN.

Another operator classifies the situation as “unsustainable“. “All the time we need for basic needs, such as drinking water or using the bathroom, is deducted. We are people, not machines. All workers need minimum breaks to guarantee their well-being, health and the quality of work”, he argued.

A Altice rejects these accusationsstating that operators perform functions as independent workers and that schedule management is carried out “in conjunction with the service providers themselves, taking into account their availability and preferences expressed by them”. However, the company did not respond to questions related to the alleged break discount.

Already the Ministry of Health forwarded responsibility to the company responsible for operating the service. In a written response, the Shared Services of the Ministry of Health clarify that the management of human resources for the SNS24 line is the responsibility of the contracting entity, remembering, however, that “the company responsible for operating SNS24 is obliged, like any other, to comply with the labor legislation in force in Portugal, as well as any inspection actions that may be carried out”.

Operators also denounce difficulties in articulating with INEMwarning that calls relating to urgent situations, such as suspected heart attacks, strokes or serious bleeding, may remain on hold for several minutes before being forwarded to the emergency service.