Two Portuguese police unions, the Sindicato dos Polícias Portugueses (SPP) and the Sindicato Nacional da Polícia (Sinapol), demanded on Saturday that the Minister of Internal Administration negotiate "the matters that truly matter" to officers, saying it was time to move past the time lost because of a 2024 agreement.
In a statement issued after a joint meeting to review police grievances and the state of negotiations with the ministry, the two unions said a risk supplement agreement signed in 2024 by a minority of PSP union organisations, representing a minority of police officers, now harms those who face the greatest risks and will one day have to be changed.
The SPP and Sinapol called on the minister to close the subject of that agreement, arguing it "has only served as a pretext to divert attention from a bad agreement." They want the minister to open talks with all representative PSP unions on the issues they say genuinely matter.
What the unions want negotiated
The two unions said they want to negotiate career progression, better pay scale indices and updated supplements with the government. They said solving officers' main problems requires negotiating the PSP's Professional Statute, respecting the pre-retirement age, and addressing career structure and pay.
"Enough excuses. The problems affecting police officers are serious and very extensive," the unions said, adding that they would push urgently for negotiations on the issues that truly affect officers and resolve the matters that have served as an excuse to divert attention from a bad agreement without helping to stop problems from piling up.
The SPP and Sinapol were among the unions that did not sign the 2024 agreement with the government.
New talks scheduled for September
The unions' statement came on the same day the Minister of Internal Administration called PSP unions and Guarda Nacional Republicana (GNR) associations to new negotiating meetings on 17 and 29 September. The PSP is Portugal's public security police force, while the GNR is the country's national guard.
In a note sent to newsrooms, the Ministry of Internal Administration (MAI) said the call for new rounds of negotiations with associations and unions was sent on Friday. It stressed that scheduling the meetings "was not a reaction to the protests" but rather compliance with a calendar that had always been planned.
The ministry said Minister Luís Neves had always said, including during this week's parliamentary hearing, that negotiations would resume in September.
Other unions already protesting
This week, the Associação Sindical dos Profissionais da Polícia (ASPP) and the Associação dos Profissionais da Guarda (APG/GNR), two of the structures that did sign the 2024 agreement, announced a joint cycle of protests. They said promises to revise pay and careers had not been kept.
Maritime Police inspectors have separately taken action against the state, saying their force is being suffocated, according to the source report.
