More than a hundred people are asking for better conditions for canteen workers

More than a hundred people gathered this Friday at the headquarters of the Portuguese Association of Hotels, Catering and Similar Equipment (AHRESP) in Lisbon, demanding higher wages and better protection for canteen workers.

Speaking to Lusa, Francisco Figueiredo from the national directorate of the Portuguese Federation of Agriculture, Food, Beverage, Hospitality and Tourism Unions (FESAHT) accused AHRESP of refusing to negotiate a collective labor agreement 20 years ago.

“They are going to take away workers’ rights, night benefits, reduce work on holidays, introduce time banks, concentrated schedules, and this is a great response from the workers,” said the union leader.

Francisco Figueiredo has documented that 80% of the sector’s 20,000 workers are paid close to the national minimum wage, after 20 years of no collective bargaining agreement renegotiation.

“For these 20 years, there has been an approach to a national minimum wage because, fundamentally, we cannot accept the removal of the few rights that workers have, and, on the other hand, AHRESP takes a radical position by setting working hours 12 hours puts personal and family life at risk and also jeopardizes workers’ right to health,” said a trade union leader belonging to the Northern Hospitality Union.

Francisco Figueiredo gave a positive assessment of the canteen strike taking place today, noting that hundreds of canteens are closed throughout the country.

FESAHT national director Antonio Bayan of the Centro Hospitality Union said members of the union federation came to AHRESP headquarters to “be a reflection of the thousands of workers in these cafeterias.”

António Bayan was one of the union representatives who entered the headquarters of the industry association to propose a wage increase of 150 euros, a reduction in working hours to 35 hours a week, 25 days of vacation, an additional payment of 25 euros. % for work at the end of the week.

After initial resistance to receiving the representatives, which was met with jeers and boos from the protesters, the eight delegates entered the AHRESP headquarters in Lisbon, where they were heard by the man in charge of the association of catering establishments and collective catering establishments, canteens and cafeterias. , food factories, Fatima Portules, according to the union leader.

The concentration was also attended by the coordinator and deputy of the Bloc de Esquerda, Mariana Mortagua, and the deputy of the Communist Party of Portugal (PCP), Alma Rivera, showing solidarity with the workers represented by the trade unions.

“An employee who has worked in a school cafeteria for 30 years and does not have a permanent contract is hired for three months, from September to December, then fired, or the contract is not approved, and then a new contract arises in January, and will not receive a permanent position.” , Mariana Mortagua criticized.

According to the BE chief, solutions include collective bargaining, since “these collective bargaining agreements have been completely blocked for 20 years,” as well as state and local enforcement of the law, which must “internalize these workers.”

“If canteens always need people to serve them, why aren’t these people government employees?” asks Mariana Mortagua.

Alma Rivera also called for collective bargaining to be encouraged “to be able to counteract exploitative situations.”

“Any of us who carry out this exploitation becomes rich, but this is not the path that the country should take, but the path of distributing wealth through salaries,” defended the communist deputy.