Portuguese bus employees stage strike to protest company concession

Lisbon bus employees staged a 24-hour strike on Thursday to protest the concession of the state-owned company Carris.

Around a hundred employees protested in a march that began from Lisbon's Alcantara station up to parliament, shouting for the government to stop the sale of the company.

"The privatization process intends to forge yet another public-private partnership, which raises concerns regarding the destruction of rights, collective hiring and at the same time risking the capacity of transportation for the Portuguese population," Manuel Leal, from the Federation of Transport and Communications Union, said.

The last 24 hour strike by Carris employees took place on April 10.

The concession of Carris is part of Portugal's privatization plan launched under its 78 billion euro bailout program, to help reduce the country's high debt load.