Strikes in Portugal over debt crisis austerity plan

PORTUGUESE labour unions mounted a general strike, pressing the government to scrap austerity measures intended to ward off a debt crisis that is spreading through the eurozone.

After Ireland’s decision to seek assistance from the EU and IMF, investors are turning their attention to other financially weak eurozone nations like Portugal.

Any wavering in the Socialist government’s commitment to austerity measures could push up Portugal’s borrowing costs in the same vicious spiral that forced Dublin and previously Athens to seek rescues. A Reuters poll showed a majority of economists expect Portugal to seek a bailout.