Prolonged Strike at Agency for Integration in Portugal

A prolonged overtime strike at the Agency for Integration, Migration and Asylum in Portugal will be carried out by The National Federation of Trade Unions of Public and Social Workers. This association has officially declared that its members will go on strike from the 22d of August till the 31st of December. It has been revealed that there are numerous problems that employees face. They work in a very poor environment due to inefficient and understaffed operation to normal operability since it was founded.

‘As Artur Cerqueira, the leader of FNSTFPS, stated, the strike is a result of workplace issues such as lack of internal regulations, insufficient SDS and accommodation, communication and, above all, brutal overload and pressure on these professionals, to the point of stress and anxiety. Besides, the union is demanding the legalization of workers’ contracts. The administration of AIMA has currently hired workers on social-cultural media via local NGOs and seconded the agency, which the union considers a «private and illegal service concession».

In addition, the union draws attention to staff compensation as the payment of wages for 2024 to employees who have already worked over 150 hours of overtime this work year without appropriate compensation. To my mind, these types of strikes should be conducted in other state social areas in Portugal because the state of public service is no less dangerous there.