Lisbon's Garbage Crisis: João Ferreira Calls Out City Hygiene Failures Before Christmas

João Ferreira's Bold Statement on Lisbon's Waste Crisis

Lisbon's communist councilor, João Ferreira, took to X (formerly Twitter) on Monday night to share a striking photograph depicting the mountains of garbage accumulating in the capital just days before Christmas.

"Lisbon, before Christmas," Ferreira commented alongside the image, highlighting the growing sanitation issues in the city.

Ferreira has been vocal in his criticism of Lisbon's mayor, Carlos Moedas, regarding the city's hygiene problems. During a public meeting last Thursday, he addressed the upcoming strike by urban hygiene workers, scheduled between Christmas and New Year's Eve.

"The urban hygiene workers are not making demands right before Christmas. They are reiterating a complaint that arose three times this past year, regarding an agreement signed in July 2023 that has yet to be honored. The mayor has ignored the promised improvements to cleaning facilities," Ferreira asserted.

The unions behind the strike announced on Monday that they have filed a cautious injunction to contest the minimum service levels imposed during the strike period.

The injunction was submitted to the Lisbon Administrative Court, aiming to either overturn or reduce the decision made by the arbitration panel of the Directorate-General for Public Administration and Employment (DGAEP), which they deem unfair in regard to the minimum services mandated during the urban hygiene workers' strike.

This strike, set for December 26 and 27, alongside additional actions against overtime work from Christmas to New Year's Eve, raises concerns about the city's sanitation during a peak time for tourism and festivities.

Related Issues

• The ongoing strike is part of a broader context of 18 announced strikes across various sectors in Portugal, including aviation and sanitation, by the end of the year.