Non-teaching staff strike closes schools across Portugal

A 24-hour strike by non-teaching school staff on Monday, 19 October, prevented many schools across Portugal from opening. Francisco Pinto, an official at the Education Professionals’ Union, estimated morning-shift participation at 80%. That figure is the union’s estimate; no national total for the number of affected schools or pupils was announced.

The action covered staff who keep schools operating day to day, rather than classroom teachers alone. The union listed operational assistants, technical assistants, specialist technicians and senior technical staff among those involved. Their roles include supporting pupils, maintaining school operations and handling administrative work. Participation varied by school, making notices from individual school management teams important for families.

Workers were protesting low pay and what they describe as a lack of professional recognition. Their demands include career structures specific to their jobs, better pay and progression, and less reliance on repeated insecure contracts. Sinape argues that the current public administration classification does not reflect the nature of these roles. The union says the absence of a defined career path and functional recognition leaves workers with limited prospects.

The strike notice did not mean every school would close. Each institution’s ability to operate depended on staff participation and whether safe minimum conditions could be maintained. When schools did not open, families had to check local notices before taking children in. Unions say that the lack of new incentives and a dedicated professional framework makes the sector less attractive and worsens staffing shortages. They also point to an unfulfilled government promise to establish a career framework for non-teaching school workers as part of the dispute.