“These [of the group] are all closed as expected. This is also one of the municipalities with the greatest shortage of workers. But there are more and many throughout the country (…). The [non-teaching] workers are sad because they see some careers being valued, namely in education, but they see nothing”, said Orlando Gonçalves, of the STFPSN.

Speaking to Lusa, without specifying details and referring to the current situation that the National Federation of Trade Unions of Public and Social Workers (FNSTFPS) will provide mid-morning, the union leader indicated that the António Nobre and Filipa de Vilhena schools in Porto are also closed, and the Canelas Secondary School in Vila Nova de Gaia.

“We are currently approving and negotiating the State Budget for 2025. It was essential to have met before this date, especially because if there were measures that the Government wanted to take, they should have been included in the budget”, he said.

Orlando Gonçalves regretted that a meeting between the government and the unions had been scheduled for 28 August, which, he said, “was cancelled by the minister who did not reschedule the date” and pointed the finger at the “unfair devaluation” of this professional class.

“Non-teaching staff are essential for the functioning of schools and for the well-being of students”, he said.

After a gathering in Rio Tinto, in the municipality of Gondomar, dozens of non-teaching staff from the North travelled by bus to Lisbon, where they will take part in a demonstration scheduled for 2:30 pm at the Basílica da Estrela, an initiative followed by a march to the building of the Ministry of Education, Science and Innovation, located next to Avenida 24 de Julho.

The non-teaching staff are demanding the creation of special careers, salary increases and better working conditions.

On Wednesday, Artur Sequeira, leader of the FNSTFPS, anticipated a well-attended strike, which will lead to the closure of most schools, with only a minority remaining open, which will not be able to guarantee the safety of students.

The FNSTFPS is also calling for a review of the ratios ordinance to increase the number of workers, arguing that it is necessary to design an ordinance that "is not based on economic principles but on real numbers so that public schools can be of quality".

The end of precarious employment and a reversal in the municipalisation process are workers' struggles, who point out that "at the moment, public schools are viewed by 297 municipalities, where each one sees the school in its own way", in addition to the fact that schools are dependent on the budget of local authorities: "Those that have a lot of money can do some things, but there are others that they cannot", he warned.