In Lisbon, thousands of educators protest their jobs and salaries

Thousands of teachers marched through central Lisbon on Saturday in a fresh display of pressure on Portugal’s centre-right government, arguing that existing education reforms have not gone far enough to address pay stagnation, career delays and mounting workloads. The protest, organised by the FENPROF union, reflected deep frustration among educators who say the profession remains undervalued despite earlier government steps to restore frozen years of service. Many demonstrators said the current measures have provided only partial relief and have failed to solve longer-term structural problems in public education. Teachers warned that slow salary progression and worsening morale are making the profession less attractive to younger staff, increasing strain on schools and threatening the quality and continuity of classroom instruction across the country.