The Union of Workers in Manufacturing, Food, Commerce, Offices, Tourism, and Transportation in the Azores (SITACEHTT-AÇORES) expresses “deep dissatisfaction and indignation at the current employment situation at Lajes Air Base on Terceira Island, which continues to affect hundreds of workers and their families in an unacceptable manner.”


In a statement, the union emphasizes that “the continuing uncertainty regarding job stability, precarious contractual conditions, and the lack of concrete responses from the authorities demonstrate a total lack of respect for the rights of workers who, for years, have ensured the exemplary functioning of Lajes Air Base. SITACEHTT/AÇORES warns of a serious and unprecedented situation affecting Portuguese workers serving the US forces stationed at Lajes Air Base on Terceira Island. “We are facing an unacceptable situation that violates the basic principles of labor justice and compromises the dignity of Portuguese workers. We demand that the Portuguese government take the right side, the side of the workers, and not hide behind treaties or agreements that cannot and should not be used to trample on the law and social justice,” the statement reads. The union therefore “strongly urges” the Government of the Portuguese Republic to take a more demanding and firm stance towards the United States of America within the framework of the Cooperation and Defense Agreement. And also, that it immediately ensures the application of salary increases in 2025, the revision of salary scales to ensure that no worker earns a base salary lower than the Guaranteed Minimum Monthly Wage in force in the Autonomous Region of the Azores, that it guarantees that the annual increase in the aforementioned scales is applied retroactively to January 1 of each year, that it implements an occupational health plan in compliance with Portuguese legislation on occupational health and safety, and calls for the urgent resumption of the meetings of the Labor and Bilateral Commission.

Alongside these demands, it considers it essential to defend the number of jobs for Portuguese workers, the establishment of a minimum quota of Portuguese workers, in the proportion of three Portuguese workers for every American worker, and the establishment of response times for the different levels of conflict resolution (Commanders, Labor Commission, and Bilateral Commission), ensuring that workers can appeal to the courts in a timely manner.

In Diário dos Açores-Paulo Viveiros-director

Translated into English as a community outreach program by the Portuguese Beyond Borders Institute (PBBI) and the Modern and Classical Languages and Literatures Department (MCLL), in collaboration with Bruma Publication and ADMA (Azores-Diaspora Media Alliance) at California State University, Fresno. PBBI thanks Luso Financial for sponsoring NOVIDADES.