Trains, ports, most public transport in Lisbon halted

Portuguese workers halted trains, shut ports and paralysed most public transport in the capital Lisbon on Thursday in protest at austerity measures and labour reforms imposed as a condition of a 78-billion-euro ($103 billion) bailout, Reuters reported. Portugal's largest union, the CGTP, aims to bring the country to a standstill, but the Portuguese have so far shown little interest in imitating the kind of protests seen in Greece. One trade union, the UGT, the country's second-largest, has signed up to the reforms, and private sector workers have been reluctant to commit to the strike. Portugal, facing its worst recession since the 1970s, was forced to take a bailout from the European Union and International Monetary Fund in May last year after running up large debts. Some economists say it might need a second bailout as the recession deepens, putting its budget targets in doubt and jeopardising its planned return to the bond markets late next year. Strike organisers said the country's railway transport was paralysed, including the international Lisbon-Madrid route. Lisbon's underground was shut at midnight. Many hospitals were only accepting emergencies. The centre-right government is betting that relative public apathy will help it impose painful spending cuts and policy reforms to drag the country out of its debt crisis. The UGT, which is allied to the opposition Socialist Party, has urged opponents of austerity to show restraint, warning that Portugal could descend into the kind of chaos seen in Greece. But the CGTP's new Communist leader, Armenio Carlos, is eager to fight the measures.