The protest has been organised by the National Federation of Teachers (Fenprof), which, in a statement, accuses the tutelage of inaction with regard to career improvements "which has been devalued by political decision", preventing the retirement and rejuvenation of the profession.

The federation also accuses the ministry of imposing “decades of precariousness, within the framework of an unfair competition regime” and of the working conditions causing “an enormous physical and psychological strain on the teachers”, not least because many have “schedules that violate the legal limits in force”.

According to Fenprof, the meeting with officials from the Ministry of Education that took place last week was useless: “Fenprof tried, once again, to open doors for the negotiation of solutions to these problems. However, ME representatives continued to reject this path, keeping the doors of consequent dialogue and negotiation blocked, giving no positive response”.

Teachers “do not conform to the disrespect of the government and, in particular, of the Ministry of Education”, stresses the federation, recalling that teachers “continue to be one of the few Public Administration workers to maintain wage cuts”.

According to Fenprof, there are currently around 12,000 “precarious” teachers with 10 or more years of service and countless teachers who work “more than 46 hours a week”.

Today, teachers and educators will gather at 15:00 at the Centro Cultural de Belém, where the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union is based.