Decades of government complacency coupled with corporate greed (even in primarily socialist countries)? It is unsustainable to treat the "least of us" as peripheral to society.
And no, one cannot live in a major US city for ~$45,000 a year.
I was talking with some people in Lisbon about this recently saying that it seems as though virtually everyone is striking. Nobody had any answers. What we were wondering was, "the government isn't literally sitting around doing nothing so what, exactly are they doing? If they aren't resolving the strikes, what are they focusing their time, attention, and euros on instead?" I know there are plenty of public works projects moving forward in Lisbon: Metro expansions, flood mitigation, and such. That's about all I can see, though, from my limited perspective.
Everyone everywhere seems to be striking, not just in Portugal, but in Britain, in Copenhagen, the US (ok, I get the U.S. one)...why does it seem like countries can't prioritize? Why do politics seem to attract the very worst--does it take a certain level of ruthlessness and selfishness to reach the upper echelons?
Thank you Nancy! This was enlightening and compassionate for all involved. I hope they get better wages and living conditions. I’m curious if you know whether VFS Global employees are part of this? We’ll be going to the one in SF for our D7 appointment and I wasn’t sure if they are affected as well.
Thanks so much for your post, Nancy. I have a trip scheduled in Portugal in a few weeks and was planning to travel by plane and bus to several cities. I’ll watch the CNN Portugal site to try to keep informed about the strikes.
Decades of government complacency coupled with corporate greed (even in primarily socialist countries)? It is unsustainable to treat the "least of us" as peripheral to society.
And no, one cannot live in a major US city for ~$45,000 a year.
It’d be great to get some detailed history on why they’re striking.
I was talking with some people in Lisbon about this recently saying that it seems as though virtually everyone is striking. Nobody had any answers. What we were wondering was, "the government isn't literally sitting around doing nothing so what, exactly are they doing? If they aren't resolving the strikes, what are they focusing their time, attention, and euros on instead?" I know there are plenty of public works projects moving forward in Lisbon: Metro expansions, flood mitigation, and such. That's about all I can see, though, from my limited perspective.
So informative, thank you Nancy. Seems odd that negotiations take 6 years and counting, surely that's no longer negotiations?
Everyone everywhere seems to be striking, not just in Portugal, but in Britain, in Copenhagen, the US (ok, I get the U.S. one)...why does it seem like countries can't prioritize? Why do politics seem to attract the very worst--does it take a certain level of ruthlessness and selfishness to reach the upper echelons?
Where does all the money go?
Thank you Nancy! This was enlightening and compassionate for all involved. I hope they get better wages and living conditions. I’m curious if you know whether VFS Global employees are part of this? We’ll be going to the one in SF for our D7 appointment and I wasn’t sure if they are affected as well.
Thanks so much for your post, Nancy. I have a trip scheduled in Portugal in a few weeks and was planning to travel by plane and bus to several cities. I’ll watch the CNN Portugal site to try to keep informed about the strikes.