Thiago Oliveira, from heavy truck mechanic to CGTP Secretary General

Heavyweight mechanic Thiago Oliveira, 43, was elected secretary general of the CGTP and, although he is easy to find and befriend, he does not hesitate in front of his superiors and the government, those who know him say.

Married and with a 20-year-old daughter finishing college, Thiago Oliveira has so far developed his trade union activities in the north of the country, but will now move between Lisbon and São Mamede de Infesta (Matosinhos), where he lives, while accepting new roles in family life.

Tiago Oliveira will not move to Lisbon, where the CGTP is headquartered, but that will not be a problem in fulfilling the responsibilities of being the leader of the country’s largest trade union center, union sources assure Luz.

The new CGTP leader “has many human and trade union qualities,” and one of them is “decisiveness and firmness,” said historic union member João Torres, who worked with Thiago Oliveira in the leadership of the União de Sindicatos do Porto (USP).

The son of fellow unionist Américo Oliveira, a northerner born in Matosinhos, completed 9th grade at school and attended a vocational electromechanical course that opened the doors of Auto Sueco in Maia when he was just 17 years old. Five years later, his company colleagues elected him as a union delegate.

He became a full-fledged trade unionist in 2006 when he joined the leadership of the Union of Manufacturing, Energy and Environmental Workers of the North (Site-Norte), and later succeeded João Torres as USP coordinator, where he stayed for 14 years.

“I have known Thiago for almost 20 years and have always seen in him human and sociable qualities that I liked. He is a very consistent, curious, modest, sympathetic young man, very caring for others, with a very easy relationship,” said João Torres.

Despite being a person “easy to like and easy to make friends with,” the new union leader “will not hesitate” before bosses or the government to fight for workers’ rights, João Torres assured.

Sergio Sales, leader of Site-Norte, also emphasized Thiago Oliveira’s “diplomatic and dialogue skills” and his desire to “build bridges” between the two sides of the barricade, highlighting the trade unionist’s contribution to the workers’ struggle against the privatization of Efacec.

Besides Efacec, Thiago Oliveira’s comrades mark their participation in the strikes at the disappeared Petrogal, in Lesa da Palmeira, as well as in the protests held in the Cerâmica de Valadares, in addition to those held in Auto Sueco, the company where the strike takes place today for better working conditions.

Thiago Oliveira, who succeeded Isabel Camarinho in the leadership of the CGTP, is the third Secretary General of the North, as is Manuel Carvalho da Silva, who took over the leadership of the central body at the age of 34 and headed the CGTP from 1986 to 2012, and as Armando Teixeira da Silva (1974 -1986).

The new general secretary of the CGTP is close to the PCP, as he is on the party’s central committee and was elected by the HDZ in the last local elections for the parish assemblies of São Mamede de Infesta and Senhora da Ora (Matosinhos).