Protest Set for Tuesday Outside Regional Parliament
The Hotel Workers' Union of Madeira is organizing a protest tomorrow Tuesday, April 15, outside the Legislative Assembly of Madeira. The event, called a "wake," will take place in the afternoon between 15:00 and 17:00. The goal is to draw attention to the ongoing struggle for better wages in the tourism and hospitality sector.
Union Set to Target Tourists Directly With Leaflets in Many Languages
To highlight their cause, the union plans to display an urn, hold banners, and hand out leaflets in four languages - Portuguese, English, French, and German.
Protest Coincides with New Government Ceremony
The timing of the protest is likely no coincidence. It will happen just an hour before the swearing-in of Madeira’s new regional government at the same location.
Longstanding Wage Concerns in the Tourism Sector
Workers in hotels and similar businesses have long complained about low wages that do not reflect the cost of living in Madeira. The union says that, although tourism brings in high profits, employees in this field continue to be left behind and that the hotel industry can do better.
The union is calling for a €75 monthly pay raise which the hotel industry denies, offering only €60. A €53 increase from €862 to the new 2025 gross regional minimum wage of €915 is mandatory and a legal requirement for everyone.
"It means that starting in January, a large majority of workers who currently earn a salary of €862 would see it increase to €915," he stated, adding that this is "a fulfillment of a legal requirement."
Union spokesman Adolfo Freitas last year, on the hotel industry denying an increase above the regional mandatory €915, Diário de Notícias da Madeira
Source: Diário de Notícias da Madeira
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