According to the most recent Eurostat data, in 2025, 33% of Portuguese people did not have the financial capacity to pay for a week of holidays away from home. João Martins' opinion article questions how it is possible that in a country where people work more hours and earn less, political discussion frequently remains centered on the need to remove rights from those who work.
The author highlights that thousands of workers are forced to work countless hours to receive little more than 900 euros at the end of the month, subject to shift schedules and particularly harsh forms of work organization. Compared to their Spanish neighbors, the Portuguese worker works on average 131 more hours per year and earns 26% less.
João Martins warns that to this scenario of low wages, unbearable housing prices, high energy costs, and insufficient public transport, is added fertile ground for populist discourses that blame immigrants or corrupt officials, when the real cause lies in years of policies that do not value work and keep wages low.
The author defends that the Constitution enshrines fundamental rights such as the right to rest, paid periodic holidays, and organization of work in dignified conditions, and maintains that there are serious alternatives to these impoverishment policies, including increasing wages, reducing working hours, and valuing careers, appealing for the political will to implement them.
