Portugal culture workers are to stage a protest on January 30 calling for more economic support during the pandemic, local media reported.
“We have been brutally suffering for ten months the consequences of precarious work, lack of rights and social protection, aggravated by the devastating consequences of the pandemic, which lead us, without alternative, to economic deprivation, to situations of indebtedness and informality,” said Teresa Coutinho, from Acção Cooperativista, in the call for the protest, at an online press conference, according to Lusa news agency.
The protest “Na Rua Pelo Futuro da Cultura”, (On the Streets for the Future of Culture) is supported by the Cooperative Action, the Union of Spectacle Workers, Audiovisual and Musicians (CENA-STE), Plateia – Association of Performing Arts Professionals, the Portuguese Association of Directors (APR), the Archeology Workers Union (STARQ) and Rede – Association of Structures for Contemporary Dance, among others.
“It is very important that the Portuguese Government realizes the strength of culture, because they have not fully understood it. We continue to experience many difficulties in understanding the size of these workers and all the areas they involve,” Rui Galveias, director of CENA-STE, said at the press conference.
Culture workers are calling for “effective social protection”, “due to the total or partial loss of their income due to the pandemic,” adding that they want this social protection to “be above the poverty line.”
Portugal is braced for a new lockdown as of Thursday as active cases have now exceeded 100,000, with the government meeting on Tuesday with health experts to agree on the measures to be enforced.
