“Low wages, precariousness and a growing degradation of working conditions” are some of the reasons that led professionals to go ahead with the strike, which is being marked by demonstrations across the country.

In Lisbon, for example, a gathering is scheduled for Largo de Camões, at 6pm. In Porto, at Praça Humberto Delgado, the demonstration begins at 12:00pm, and in Coimbra, the start was scheduled for 9:00am.

"I expect strong support because in fact precariousness is much higher than in most other sectors, salaries are increasingly lower, and we have not had career progression for the last 20 years", said the president of the Journalists' Union (SJ), Luís Simões, speaking to Lusa agency, who announced that its "normal service" could "suffer disruptions" during the strike period - from 00:00 to 24:00 this Thursday.

In the strike's statement of demands, which was published on the SJ website, it is argued that "job insecurity, along with low wages in the sector, is a serious obstacle to the full development of the journalism profession".

"It is an obstacle to the very right of citizens to be informed freely", continues the letter, where journalists demand "salary increases in 2024 higher than the inflation accumulated since 2022 and the substantial improvement in the remuneration of freelancers", the "guarantee of a worthy salary at entry level into the profession and regular career progression" and several other demands.

In solidarity with the strike is the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), which said that it "accompanies the demands for which journalists are fighting", in a sector "characterised by the dominance of large economic and financial groups and the high concentration of ownership of Social Communication".

Sonae's chief development officer (CDO), João Günther Amaral, considered that the general strike by journalists is a "reflection of the challenge of reinvention" that media faces around the world.

"We understand that what is happening is a reflection of the enormous challenge that the media face today, not only in Portugal, but in Europe and the world, and that it is a challenge of reinvention, with everything that is happening happen at the level of digital platforms and the channelling of media that were invested in newspapers and that generated revenue for newspapers and other media, and which are being channelled elsewhere", said the person in charge.