Doctors, Nurses and Teachers Swell Friday's 20 November Public Sector Strike: What to Expect at Hospitals, Schools and Town Halls

Doctors, nurses, teachers and local government workers have now all filed to strike on Friday 20 November, joining the public administration stoppage the unions called on 27 October. The latest to sign up is the Federação Nacional dos Médicos (FNAM, National Federation of Doctors), whose announcement Lusa carried on Wednesday, as reported by Notícias ao Minuto.

When the Frente Comum de Sindicatos da Administração Pública (Common Front of Public Administration Unions) set the date, no strike notice had been published. In the fortnight since, the notices have arrived union by union.

Who is now on strike

• Doctors: FNAM's three regional unions (North, Centre and South) filed a notice covering every doctor in the public, social and private sectors, from 00:00 to 24:00. It demands a 15 percent rise in base pay, the repeal of SIADAP (the civil service appraisal system), a higher meal allowance and better careers. Doctors need not be union members to join.
• Nurses: the Sindicato dos Enfermeiros Portugueses (SEP, Portuguese Nurses' Union) said on 3 November that nurses will strike on the night, morning and afternoon shifts.
• Teachers: FENPROF (National Federation of Teachers) filed its notice on Wednesday. It covers nursery, primary, secondary and university teachers and researchers, in state, private and social-sector schools.
• Local government: STAL, the local and regional government workers' union, covers town halls, parish councils, municipal services and companies, including water, sanitation, street cleaning and waste collection.

The pay gap has not closed. In its 30 October leaflet the Frente Comum said the Government had still tabled no proposal after two meetings; it wants at least 15 percent, with a minimum of 150 euros. The protest also runs past Friday. FENPROF says teachers will join the CGTP union confederation's national demonstration on Saturday 21 November and a rally outside Parliament on 24 November, the day of the final budget vote. STAL has filed a second notice for 21 November so its members can attend.

What to expect on 20 November

• Hospitals and health centres: under FNAM's notice, minimum services match what each hospital or health centre runs around the clock on Sundays and public holidays. Doctors must also cover chemotherapy and radiotherapy, dialysis, emergency care, hospital-only medicines, blood donation, organ retrieval and transplants, inpatient palliative care, and egg collection for IVF cycles already under way in the SNS. Routine appointments and planned operations are not protected and may be cancelled. Scan, lab and physiotherapy technicians are also out on 19 and 20 November.
• Schools: FENPROF's notice says teachers do not have to tell anyone in advance that they will strike, and that no minimum services are needed. Parents may only find out on the morning whether classes run. Watch for a message from your child's school.
• Bins and water: STAL proposes minimum services only where a service meets an essential need, with staffing no higher than a Sunday night shift in the holiday season. Its notice also covers shifts that begin on the evening of 19 November, so overnight bin rounds may be missed.
• Public counters: workers can join without warning. If you have a Finanças, Social Security, Loja do Cidadão or town hall appointment that day, confirm it before you travel.

Where unions and employers do not agree minimum services, an arbitration panel sets them. By Wednesday evening the Conselho Económico e Social (Economic and Social Council) list of rulings carried none for 20 November.