Hundreds of people began climbing Avenida Almirante Reis towards Alameda Afonso Henriques in Lisbon at around 3:30 pm on Tuesday to celebrate Labor Day.
“May 1st, increase wages and pensions, guarantee rights” and “Fight exploitation, April, for a Portugal with a future” are the slogans of the march, which CGTP Secretary General Thiago Oliveira wants to turn into a demonstration. workers that the values of April are as relevant as they were 50 years ago.
Speaking to reporters, Thiago Oliveira recalled last week’s demonstration in Lisbon to mark the 50th anniversary of “the great achievement of April 25, which was confirmed by May 1.”
“Because the government is making life difficult for workers,” with this demonstration they will show that a better life is possible, he added.
This Tuesday marks Labor Day across the country, with the CGTP and UGT unions promoting demonstrations and worker appreciation initiatives.
May 1, International Workers’ Day, has its origins in Chicago 137 years ago, a day of struggle to reduce working hours to eight hours, brutally suppressed by the authorities of the United States of America. which left dozens of workers dead and four trade union leaders sentenced to hanging.
50 years ago in Portugal, the celebration of May 1st, just a week after the April 25th revolution, was a large popular demonstration.
Judging by photographs from the time, hundreds of thousands of people took to the streets across the country, demonstrating their joy and making demands such as “the right to strike,” “end the war immediately,” or “the return of soldiers.”
In Lisbon, an estimated 500,000 people attended the 1974 Labor Day demonstration.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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