Thousands
of Portuguese took to the streets in the national capital of Lisbon
Saturday to protest against government's austerity measures while
calling for the government to step down.
"We are having a boot held on our throats," said Candida Carvalho, 52, a pensioner, adding that despite having worked for 40 years, she was earning a pension below the national minimum wage of 485 euros a month.
"Next year the government will make cuts worth thousands in education, which means they'll close more schools and lay off teachers," said Paulo Macedo, 52, a secondary school teacher. "My position has been frozen and I am forced to take yearly auditions. "
The protest, organized by national trade unions, came after the country's Constitutional Court recently struck down several measures in the state budget for the year of 2014, including further cuts to pensioners and salary cuts in the public sector.
The country's national trade unions want the center-right ruling coalition to ease off spending cuts and lift the national minimum wage to 515 euros.
Source and full story: Xinhua News Agency, 21 June 2014
"We are having a boot held on our throats," said Candida Carvalho, 52, a pensioner, adding that despite having worked for 40 years, she was earning a pension below the national minimum wage of 485 euros a month.
"Next year the government will make cuts worth thousands in education, which means they'll close more schools and lay off teachers," said Paulo Macedo, 52, a secondary school teacher. "My position has been frozen and I am forced to take yearly auditions. "
The protest, organized by national trade unions, came after the country's Constitutional Court recently struck down several measures in the state budget for the year of 2014, including further cuts to pensioners and salary cuts in the public sector.
The country's national trade unions want the center-right ruling coalition to ease off spending cuts and lift the national minimum wage to 515 euros.
Source and full story: Xinhua News Agency, 21 June 2014
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