In 1988, journalist Dina Aguiar announced on RTP the first general strike called jointly by CGTP and UGT. Eight months after winning the legislative elections with an absolute majority, Cavaco Silva achieved another unprecedented feat: the labor package presented by his Government united the central unions’ disagreement.
Thirty-seven years later, Luís Montenegro, convinced dolphin of Professor Cavaco, whom he has just honored in São Bento, can be proud of replicating the effect of his master: UGT and CGTP once again call for a joint general strike against the draft law reforming labor legislation presented by the current Government shortly after the victory in the May legislative elections. This time without Dina Aguiar to announce it, having retired a few weeks ago from public television, this is only the fifth general strike organized jointly by the two largest inter-union unions in democratic Portugal. In between, José Sócrates and Passos Coelho (holds the record, with two) were also “treated” to two joint general strikes by CGTP and UGT, the last of which was in 2013.
The historic weight of this announcement cannot be underestimated. For the Government of Luís Montenegro, it is a clear warning: moving forward with a profound labor reform without openness to dialogue not only risks eroding its social base, but can also fuel a climate of persistent contestation that tends to erode legitimacy and political stability, as we have seen several times in the past. Especially because, let’s face it, the electoral program of the PSD/CDS coalition, with positive language about modernization and valorization of work, did not allow us to foresee the real dimension of the reform now proposed. Montenegro, which promised to value social consultation, now finds itself facing a test of its listening and negotiating capacity.
But the announced strike of December 11th does not just test the Government: it also tests trade unionism. CGTP and UGT face a structural challenge, with declining membership and difficulties in mobilizing young people, who, as recent trends show everywhere, today seem to adhere more enthusiastically to neoliberal ideas – such as valuing the market over the State, individualism, “meritocracy” and labor mobility – than to action and collective movements.
Will unions be able to demonstrate relevance and capture the attention of new generations who live in an increasingly precarious, flexible and digital job market? Will you be able to convince them that rights are not obstacles, that flexibility does not have to be synonymous with precariousness and that this struggle does not perpetuate inequalities?
In the end, the December 11th strike poses a double test: for the Government, on political sensitivity and negotiation capacity; for unions, about social strength and generational renewal. On both sides, a common open question: what is the value, in fact, of a general strike in today’s Portugal?