As many as 3,000 protesters demanding a rethink over government plans to close down the Viana do Castelo shipyard, putting more than 600 jobs at risk, are expected at the door of the official residence of Prime Minister Pedro Passos Coelho on Wednesday.
Declaring their intention to demonstrate en masse in Lisbon, workers from the beleaguered shipyard are calling on the intervention of Portugal’s President Cavaco Silva over what they claim is a “social crime”.
“In our opinion, there is something very wrong here,” trade union leader Arménio Carlos told Público newspaper, accusing the government of “burying the national interest” with the closure of the yard.
Wednesday’s protest follows a huge demo in Viana do Castelo last week and news that Defence Minister Aguiar Branco has delivered a report on the shipyard privatisation plans to DIAP – the central investigative department that deals with complex legal issues. According to Correio da Manhã newspaper, the report “points to indication of crime”.
As Arménio Carlos told Público, workers want “clarification” on “negotiations” that involve the government’s handing over of the shipyard to multinational Martifer group – a deal he described as “completely upside down”.
