After the truck protest, the government admitted that it "forgot" the sector: There is a critical meeting on Monday

Following the fuel protest in Portugal, in which hundreds of heavy vehicles participated, the government and representatives of the excavation and earthworks industry will meet in Lisbon on Monday, September 28.

Minister of Infrastructure and Housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, acknowledged that the sector was not taken into account sufficiently in the fuel subsidies recently announced by the government and announced that the requests were being examined.

However, there is currently no new support approved for the sector.

Hundreds of trucks hit the road

The slow driving protest, held on September 25, started from the Paredes region.

Hundreds of heavy vehicles participated in the action, which proceeded towards Coimbra via the A42, A41 and A1.

The industry argues that rising diesel prices in particular make operating costs unsustainable.

Key demands include access to the gasóleo profissional, or professional diesel regime.

Minister: The sector has been forgotten

Following the protest, Minister of Infrastructure and Housing Miguel Pinto Luz admitted that the excavation and earthworks sector had been overlooked in the measures taken to date.

The government stated that it evaluated the demands of the sector.

Although this statement is important, it is not yet a support decision.

They will meet in Lisboa on Monday

Industry representatives will be received by the government in Lisbon on Monday, September 28.

Following the meeting, a concrete decision will be made regarding access to the professional diesel system or another support mechanism. It will be clear that it will not come out.

Therefore, as of today:

“The government gave new support to truckers”

It is not correct to say.

The correct situation is this:

The government acknowledged that the sector was left out of existing supports and scheduled a meeting to discuss demands.

Why is professional diesel important?

The gasóleo profissional system allows certain commercial transportation activities to recover part of the tax burden on fuel.

Excavation and similar businesses argue that despite the heavy vehicles they use, they cannot fall within the scope of the current system in the same way.

For this reason, the sector's demand is not to reduce the price of diesel at the pump to everyone; evaluation of its activities within the scope of the professional fuel regime.

Resources

RTP — September 25, 2026

https://www.rtp.pt/noticias/economia/marcha-lenta-empresarios-do-setor-das-terraplanagens-recebidos-pelo-governo-na-segunda-feira_e1767607

Jornal Económico / Lusa — 25 September 2026

https://jornaleconomico.sapo.pt/noticias/governo-esta-a-analisar-as-pretensoes-do-setor-de-terraplanagens-sobre-os-combustiveis/