“On the 19th, 21st, 26th and 28th of November, 3rd, 5th, 10th, 12th, 17th and 19th of December, there will be partial strikes at ASAE, in which at least one of its organisational units will be on strike”, says the pre - strike notice from the ASAE Employees Union Association (ASF-ASAE).

According to the trade union association, there was a "drastic decrease in the number of workers" at ASAE, which went from 595 in 2006 to 470, of which 220 are inspectors.

"With a budget of less than 20 million euros, of which around 85% is for salaries, there is little left to invest in new acquisitions, such as technological tools that make it possible to identify offenders in online commerce, reagents laboratories that allow more food analysis and greater combat against food fraud or even small repairs of faults in degraded facilities or immobilized vehicles", says the association in a statement.

Among the reasons listed for the strike are the non-attribution of a supplement equivalent to the “mission allowance”, an attitude that the institution's employees classify as "a total lack of recognition by this government for the police status of ASAE", and the lack of response to claims presented at the September meeting with the Government.

They also point out the lack of a timetable for the review of the ASAE Special Inspection Career Statute, which they consider to be unattractive for attracting new inspectors, with an undervalued salary scale that they consider could lead to the progressive loss of inspectors.

The disagreement with the direction that ASAE has taken in recent years and the under budgeting, which workers consider to have caused "very serious constraints" in the normal functioning of the institution, are also highlighted by the union.

The trade union association also points out the "serious insufficiencies" of human resources, when compared to the increase in ASAE's skills.

"From 2006 to 2022, 223 diplomas were published assigning new powers to ASAE", explains the association.