Shouting slogans like "for the banks there are millions, for us, there are only pennies," about 80,000 protesters filled the Portuguese capital, police said.
The Union of All Education Professionals (STOP) is demanding that the government increases the wages of teachers and school workers by at least 120 euros ($130) a month and speeds up career progression.
The government has not made a counter-proposal specifically for teachers but has said it will increase the monthly salaries of all civil servants who earn up to about 2,600 euros by 52 euros, Reuters reported.
Teachers complain that, because of career freezes in the past, they are the lowest-paid senior civil servants, which means their financial situation has worsened after a recent spike in inflation to a 30-year high.
Teachers and other education staff across the country have been taking strike action since early December, closing many schools and leaving students unable to attend classes. The strikes have been organized on an area-by-area basis with successive days of action in each of Portugal's 18 districts.
The government has criticized STOP for the way it has organized the strikes because it says, it does not have a pre-set timetable and teachers and staff only refuse to work certain hours on a specific day but are still able to close schools.
MP/PR
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