A GENERAL strike called by Portugal’s two main trade union confederations brought the country to a standstill today.

It was the biggest walkout in more than 10 years, according to the General Workers’ Union (UGT) and the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), who organised the strike over the country’s right-wing government’s planned changes to employment law.

The government’s plans include making it easier for companies to fire workers, denying the right to strike in additional sectors of the economy and limiting breastfeeding breaks for mothers to the first two years of a baby’s life from the current open-ended dispensation.

Prime Minister Luis Montenegro says the changes are necessary to tackle “rigidities” in the labour market “so companies can be more profitable and workers can have better salaries” as a result.

Lisbon Metro said that services were suspended and would not resume until this morning. Portuguese Railways and the light rail operator in Porto, the country’s second largest city, both announced massive disruptions to services.

Almost 1,000 workers at Portugal’s largest factory, the Volkswagen owned Autoeuropa near Lisbon, voted unanimously last week to back the strike.

“I believe there is no worker in this country unaffected by the negative measures in this reform,” said UGT secretary-general Mario Mourao, after the Autoeuropa gathering.

Self-employed photographer Eduardo Ferreira says he is pleased to see the unions unite at a “critical moment” for Portugal.

The CGTP has condemned the package as “an assault on the rights of all workers, particularly women and young people,” while the UGT accuses the government plans as being “so out of step, in a context of economic growth, financial stability and a strong labour market, that it reflects a clear bias in favour of employers.”