Public service workers in Portugal have engaged in a general strike to protest government austerity measures that have led to the nation’s worst economic slump since the 1970’s. The Thursday protest effort, which was called by Portuguese trade unions, began peacefully although it brought the nation’s public transport system to a halt, prompting anger and despair among those who decided to go... 

Portuguese protesters hold banners with anti-government policy messages during a protest against austerity measures, on the day of the general strike, in Lisbon on November 24, 2011. Portugal’s main trade union, the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (CGTP), has fiercely condemned as a “declaration of war against workers” a new set of austerity measures introduced by the government...