Portuguese journalists strike for first time in 42 years

A union on Thursday urged all journalists in Portugal to join a one-day strike over low wages and job insecurity.

The strike action is Portugal’s first in 42 years.

The last general strike by Portuguese journalists was held in 1982.

The action reportedly came after Portugal’s leading media group, Global Media, announced a redundancy plan this week targeting 20 employees, including 10 journalists, due to a “complicated financial situation.”

The strikers called for a wage increase to cope with inflation and for compliance with labour laws on overtime pay.

In a statement, the Journalists’ Union, which called for the strike, said: “Job insecurity and low salaries” create “an obstacle to citizens’ right to information.”

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The union noted that more than 20 news outlets were affected by the stoppage.

Reports have it that the Lusa news agency stopped publishing news dispatches at midnight on Wednesday.

Several rallies are already planned throughout the day in the capital Lisbon, the northern city of Porto and Coimbra in central Portugal.

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