Lisbon, Sept. 18, 2025 (Lusa) - Portugal's SPdH/Menzies airport groundhandling workers on Thursday cancelled the strike scheduled for various periods between September and January, as they consider that the conditions for exercising the right to strike do not exist, after minimum services were decreed, the union announced.
The strike by workers at Menzies (formerly Groundforce), a company that provides ground handling services, called by SIMA - Metal and Allied Industries Union and the Transport Union (STA), covered several periods between midnight on 3 September and midnight on 2 January, totalling 76 days.
The Arbitration Court of the Economic and Social Council's Arbitration Board decreed minimum services, with SIMA "vehemently denouncing the Arbitration Court's decision regarding the strike at SPdH/Menzies", arguing that "what was imposed are not “minimum services”’ and pointing out that the decision requires "ensuring around 80% of normal operations".
Today, in a statement, SIMA announced that it had cancelled the strike notice on the grounds that the conditions for workers to exercise their right to strike were not met, following the Arbitration Court's decision, which "resulted in a real attack on the right to strike of Portuguese workers in general and of that company in particular".
The decision required 100% of flights on the mainland and islands and 35% of international flights to be handled.
According to the union, the Arbitration Court's decision is "completely contrary to previous ones" and is based "on totally inappropriate assessments and non-objective criteria regarding the duration of the strike, neglecting workers' rights and resulting in a decision worthy of a travel agency".
"We know that our ministers currently wish to restrict this constitutional right of workers, but we cannot agree with this position in any way," the union emphasises.
In the union's view, "the entire process by which minimum services were decreed is flawed by a breach of trust on the part of workers in a structure that should serve the interests of all and not just a few".
"It was with perplexity that we saw workers' arbitrators (who were not chosen by them) become employers' arbitrators, which is indeed unusual and very strange," the union points out in the note.
The union also says that "other forms of struggle are already being considered," without specifying which ones.
In August, SIMA announced new strikes by workers at the company responsible for ground handling services, in alternating periods until 2 January 2026, including long weekends and busy dates such as Christmas and the New Year.
This advance notice from SIMA came after strikes in July and August and the suspension of strikes planned for the end of August, following contacts with the Ministry of Labour.
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Lusa
