Barcelos, Portugal, May 8, 2025 (Lusa) — Livre's spokesperson criticised the government on Thursday for invoking its caretaker role to avoid resolving the problems at Comboios de Portugal (CP), but when it comes to the election campaign, it forgets its position.
"This government can announce deportations on a Saturday morning, which, as we will see, are administrative procedures that were not deportations. That is not a caretaker government, but to do what the infrastructure minister has to do, which is to sit down at the table and talk to CP workers and understand functions that, even for a caretaker government, are often urgent, because the Portuguese people are not getting the service they deserve. That is something a caretaker government cannot do. What it doesn"t want to do," said Rui Tavares.
The Livre spokesman was speaking to journalists on the sidelines of a visit to the Barcelos Fair in the district of Braga.
In a constituency where Livre has never elected a member of parliament but has outlined its ambition to do so in these legislative elections, the Livre leader revealed that he was "a little tired of this game played by the AD government", which forgets that it is a caretaker government for everything that serves the election campaign, but remembers this when it comes to solving the country's problems.
He insisted: "In everything that serves the election campaign, it forgets that it is a caretaker government, and then, for everything that can ensure it will provide services today to CP users and workers, it remembers that it is a caretaker government".
Saying that this stance is "absolutely incoherent", the Livre leader considered that the government does not want dialogue on the issue of CP.
According to Rui Tavares, the government should have a vision for the company's future and understand that a way forward involves passengers and workers.
"When workers know that there is a way forward in a company, they become enthusiastic and participate in finding solutions, which is why Livre said that workers should have representation on the board of directors," he pointed out.
In his opinion, this also requires trade unionism and a workers' committee that wants to participate.
The minister of infrastructure and housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, accused the unions representing CP workers of bringing the country to a standstill with a strike motivated by political interests at election time, stressing that the government "will not give in to pressure" and that it tried to negotiate with the unions, "going to the limit" of what the law allows a caretaker government to do.
The strike, which will continue until 14 May, was called against the imposition of wage increases "that do not restore purchasing power", for "collective bargaining for decent wage increases" and for "the implementation of the agreement to restructure wage scales, under the terms negotiated and agreed", according to the unions.
The strike will have a particular impact on Monday and Thursday due to the larger number of unions (14) that have joined it on those days.
By the Arbitration Court's decision, the strikes will not have minimum services.
SVF/ADB // ADB.
Lusa
