Portuguese workers at Lajes Base yesterday reiterated their appeal to the Portuguese government to advance their unpaid wages due to the US government shutdown.

“The workers are worried, disappointed, sad, and feeling abandoned. It’s a complicated situation. The bills won’t wait, the situation is getting worse every day, and we need answers,” said Paula Terra, president of the Portuguese Workers’ Representative Committee (CRT) at Lajes Air Base, at a press conference.

“What we have been demanding from the outset is what other countries have already done, namely Germany and Spain, which is to ensure that their workers actually receive their wages at the end of the month. They have advanced the wages and will then proceed to reach an agreement with the Americans,” explained the coordinator of SITACEHTT/Azores, Vítor Silva.

In a joint statement, consisting of three paragraphs, the Ministries of National Defense and Foreign Affairs said on Thursday that the Portuguese government was “evaluating possible solutions within the current national regulatory framework, with a view to reducing this impact.” The executive also stressed that it is “unaware of the situation described,” but is “concerned about the impact of this delay on the workers affected and their families.”

Vítor Silva claimed that the Portuguese state is a “direct interlocutor” in an international agreement with the United States and, therefore, “cannot be unaware of a situation of this nature.”

“It is up to the Portuguese State, as the representative of these workers in the agreement, to ensure the payment of their salaries, and we will demand this, whatever the cost, and send the necessary letters to the Prime Minister, the Minister of Foreign Affairs, and the Minister of Defense,” he stressed.

The situation has been known for more than two weeks, but according to Paula Terra, the Government of the Republic has not yet contacted the workers.

“We learned through a statement from the two ministries that solutions were being prepared. The workers’ committee would like to know what those solutions are,” she said.

Salaries at Lajes Base are paid every two weeks. The fortnight ending October 17 was paid with cuts, and the fortnight ending October 27 was not paid. At issue is the introduction of a temporary, unpaid suspension for U.S. civil servants due to the partial shutdown of the U.S. government, as the federal budget has not been approved.

At a joint press conference, the Azores Union of Workers in Manufacturing, Food, Commerce, Offices, Tourism, and Transportation (SITACEHTT) and the Workers’ Representative Committee called on the Portuguese government to follow the example of the German and Spanish governments. There is still no indication of when the impasse over the US federal budget will be resolved, and without it, Portuguese workers will continue to go unpaid. Paula Terra therefore insisted that the “only solution” is for the Portuguese government to advance the salaries.

“We cannot be in this waiting period for a situation that is not our responsibility. We are Portuguese citizens, working in Portugal, under an agreement signed between two countries. If one side does not comply with the agreement, the other side will have to enforce it,” she stressed. According to the CRT president, workers at Lajes Air Base have “the same type of contracts” as those working for the US Air Force on German soil.

Workers claim the situation is illegal.

“In principle, the solution applied to them could be applied to workers at Lajes Air Base. If there is any legal situation that prevents this, we were not aware of it,“ she explained. This is not the first time that the US administration has run out of budget, but on other occasions, the shutdown did not affect Portuguese workers at Lajes Air Base.

”This situation never arose for Portuguese workers because we were always protected by labor agreements. At least that was the information we were given at the time,“ said Paula Terra. Despite assurances that the situation is ”illegal,” workers have been advised to continue reporting to work under the threat of dismissal. They cannot strike or challenge the situation in court.

“One of the points that was clearly established in the first meeting we had with the Portuguese and American commanders was that this situation was not legal and that it could not be applied to workers in this way. But as there is no approved budget, there are no funds to pay salaries,” revealed the CRT president.

PS calls for government intervention.

The leader of the PS/Azores, Francisco César, also reiterated on Monday in the Assembly of the Republic that the Government of the Republic should advance the missing wages to the workers at Lajes Air Base.

” Portuguese workers at Lajes Air Base, whose work is the result of an agreement between Portugal and the United States, have for the second time not received the wages they are owed because of the non-approval of the US budget, and they already know that the next one, at the beginning of November, will not be paid,” he said in a speech during the discussion of the State Budget for 2026.

“The German government, faced with the same problem, protected its citizens and advanced their wages. The Spanish government also protected its citizens and reached an agreement with the US administration. Knowing that this solution is neutral for the budget, what we are asking is that Portugal do the same, protect these 420 families, and advance their wages while the deadlock continues,” he added.

If the Republic does not do so, the Region will advance wages

The vice president of the Regional Government, Artur Lima, guarantees that if the Government of the Republic does not advance the wages in arrears at Lajes Air Base, the Azorean executive will assume this commitment.

“If the Government of the Republic does not fulfill its obligation, the Regional Government will come up with a solution so that workers are not left without pay until the shutdown [of the US administration] is over,” he said yesterday afternoon, after the union and workers demanded that the national executive advance their salaries. Artur Lima noted that the Government of the Republic “is committed to finding a solution to resolve this issue.”

“We are on the right track to ensure that Lajes Base workers are paid, first and foremost, by the Portuguese State, which is its obligation if the US State fails to do so,” he said.

According to the minister, whose responsibilities include monitoring the Cooperation and Defense Agreement between Portugal and the United States, “in principle it will be possible” for the Government of the Republic “to pay these wages to the workers at Lajes Air Base,” but it is necessary to negotiate how the Portuguese State will then be reimbursed by the US State. “The Portuguese State has an obligation to pay these wages and then be reimbursed for what it has advanced by the US State,” he argued.

The Regional Government is, however, working on a “plan B” if the national executive does not advance the wages. “Yesterday [Monday], the president of the [Regional] Government gave me instructions to discuss a plan B with the [regional] secretary of finance so that, in the event of any mishap – which I am convinced will not happen – the Regional Government can guarantee the payment of wages to workers at Lajes Air Base,” he revealed. The vice president of the Azorean executive assured that “the Azores Government is working behind the scenes with the Government of the Republic to resolve this,” but noted that “things take time.”

“I believe that by the end of this week or the beginning of next week, we will have a more consistent solution on this matter,” he said. Artur Lima stressed that the Azorean executive “has been following this matter from the outset.”

“The meetings are not public, nor are they announced, but I have already met with the workers’ committee, which is the body that I consider credible enough to meet with,” he said, adding that, in addition to sending a letter to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he has also been in contact with the Director-General of Foreign Policy and the Minister of Defense. According to the minister, other solutions were considered, such as providing social support through the Social Security Institute, but “these are much more time-consuming processes.”

“The workers will not be left without their wages if the shutdown continues and it is not known how long it will last,” he assured.

In Diário Insular-José Lourenço-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