Welcome to the Week em Breve, a wrap-up of important Portuguese news to keep you up to date and in the know.
Thousands march in protest of proposed labor laws
On Saturday, tens of thousands of protesters took to the streets of Lisbon to push back against a proposal from the center-right government they say infringes on workers’ rights and call for higher wages, according to the BBC.
While the government claims the measures are aimed at boosting productivity, critics point out that it will make it easier for companies to fire staff and outsource work, as well as slash compassionate leave, including for women who suffer miscarriages.
Protesters also called for raising wages — the minimum wage, €870, is among the lowest in Europe, and 50% of Portuguese workers make less than €1,000 a month, according to official data cited by the BBC.
The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses – CGTP), which is the country’s largest union, also announced a general strike for Dec. 11.
Lisbon airport turns away private jets of Web Summit attendees
Today marks the start of the annual Web Summit in Lisbon, and in a sign that it’s become quite popular with a certain kind of traveller, the city’s airport is turning away private jets, apparently for the first time in the conference’s almost 10-year history here, The Financial Times reported a day before the labor demonstration.
Event organizers issued a statement saying there was “a shortage of private jet slots” during the event, and some planes were diverted as far away as Badajoz in Spain, the FT writes.
While the problem is partly due to the growing popularity of Web Summit — it attracted over 71,000 attendees last year, according to its organizers — it’s also down to new trends among the tech elites when it comes to private jets.
“It’s the new Lamborghini,” one person who works in the sector told the FT.
Some of the featured speakers this year include “Tennis Legend” Maria Sharapova and “Influencer and Content Creator” Khaby Lame, as well as various C-suit representatives of different firms and some government ministers.
Immigration to Portugal dropped off from 2023 to 2024 while emigration rose
After growing steadily for several years, immigration to Portugal slowed last year, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development’s International Migration Outlook 2025.
Portugal reported receiving 33,600 immigrants in 2015, 51,300 in 2017 and 106,700 in 2019, according to the report. That fell to 84,700 in 2020, during the Covid-19 lockdowns, but jumped back up to 93,700 in 2021, 121,000 in 2022 and a peak of 140,300 in 2023, but that’s dropped to 137,600 last year, representing a decrease of 1.9%.
At the same time, 61,000 Portuguese emigrated, with Switzerland being the preferred destination, receiving 21% of the emigrants, followed by Spain, with 19%, and France, with 12%.
Immigrants are overqualified and underpaid
The OECD also found that 41% of immigrants landing in Portugal in recent years are overqualified for the jobs they’re in — compared to 12% of Portuguese who were born here, according to Público.
Immigrants in Portugal also earn 28% less than native workers of the same age and sex, although that’s less of a gap than the 34% average for the OECD.
It’s not just due to immigrants landing in lower-paying sectors: while 57% of immigrants here go into housing, catering and construction, the OECD stressed that integration is essential, in part through the recognition of immigrants’ qualifications as well as programs to help them achieve fluency, but also assistance with job searches and measures to improve professional mobility.
The report also notes that 76% of immigrants in Portugal are employed, which is among the highest rates in Europe. The OECD average is 71%.
Chega deputy accused of telling Portuguese-born woman to go back to her land
Socialist Party deputy Eva Cruzeiro has filed a complaint against Chega’s Filipe Melo, requesting an inquiry over what she describes as racist and xenophobic language.
The complaint alleges that during a heated back-and-forth between the Socialist and Chega benches at a parliamentary session in late October, during which several people frequently interrupted each other, Melo told Cruzeiro, “Go back to your land,” according to Lusa.
That was in response to Cruzeiro telling the Chega side, “You are racist, you are xenophobic, and I maintain that, according to our Constitution, you should not exist in this democracy. The billboard we have here in front of the Assembly is proof of your racism and xenophobia,” according to CNN Portugal.
Cruzeiro was possibly referring to this billboard right outside the National Assembly:
Cruzeiro, an award-winning rapper who entered politics earlier this year, is Portuguese-Angolan, born in Portugal and raised in Seixal, just south of Lisbon.
Melo, according to CNN, said he wasn’t the only Chega deputy to say that to Cruzeiro.
It’s unclear whether he said that in his defense or to draw attention to his fellow Chega deputies.
As of last week, Melo also faces accusations that he has failed to pay back €9,000 in loans provided by a fellow Chega member as well as by the member’s maid, according to Correio da Manhã.
Cruzeiro’s complaint against Melo is the second filed during this Assembly: the first, filed by Socialist deputy Isabel Moreira in September, accuses him of blowing kisses to her and gesturing for her to shut up during a plenary sessions, according to Lusa.
Launch of AIMA complaints channel — for professionals only
Speaking of complaints, the Portuguese Bar Association (Ordem dos Avodagos, OA) last week launched a new “channel” for lawyers to file complaints against the Agency for Integration, Migrations and Asylum (AIMA, Agência para a Integração Migrações e Asilo).
That channel is only for lawyers, however.
Home prices in Lisbon hit €5,886 per square meter
Real estate prices continued climbing, meanwhile, with the median price for a home in Portugal reaching €2,970 per square meter in October, an 8.7% increase over the same month last year, according to real estate listings site idealista, the Portugal News writes.
Prices in some areas grew much faster, including in Beja (30.6%) and Santarém (27.8%).
But while Lisbon home prices rose only 4.1%, the city remains the most expensive area in the country, with the average home going for €5,886 per square meter last month.
