SECONDARY/SYMPATHY STRIKE
| PORTUGAL |
| GREVE DE SOLIDARIEDADE SECONDARY/SYMPATHY STRIKE |
Strike in which the strikers are seeking to secure the satisfaction of a demand which relates to a different group of employees: there is no objective involved which is directly connected with the employees participating in the strike. The problem with this type of strike lies in deciding the degree to which an employer may legitimately be required to bear the costs of a stoppage when he or she can do nothing towards accommodating the strikers' aim. In short, a sympathy strike raises the issue of the passive legitimacy of the target of a strike. In Portugal, the majority view adopted by both legal scholars and the courts inclines towards regarding such strikes as lawful. The reasoning is that, given the extremely broad terms in which the right to strike is enshrined in the Portuguese Constitution (see strike: legal concept ), it is not possible to prevent employees from imposing this right against their employer. However, there is another body of opinion which holds that a sympathy strike is the subject only of a freedom enjoyed by employees, not a true right which may, as such, be asserted against an employer in the context of the individual employment relationship (Bernardo Xavier , 1984). The reasoning here is that, since the employer is unconnected with the stoppage and therefore unable to respond to the strikers' claims, there is no proper justification for obliging him or her to bear the costs of an action which is, ultimately, directed against a different employer.
Please note: the European industrial relations glossaries were compiled between 1991 and 2003 and are not updated. For current material see the European industrial relations dictionary.