Strike paralyses Portugal metro

Lisbon’s metro was totally shut down during morning rush-hour on Monday by the first in a series of strikes by transport workers to protest pay cuts being imposed by the cash-strapped government.

The four-and-a-half hour shutdown, which began at 6:30am, will be followed by similar stoppages later in the week on rail, ferry and bus services both in the capital and other major cities including Porto, Braga and Coimbra.

The wideranging cuts in public sector pay by Socialist Prime Minister Jose Socrates’ government have met fierce opposition from trade unions who organised Portugal’s first general strike in more than two decades last November.