Portuguese court ruling protecting civil service benefits will see key services cut

Portuguese people will suffer from cuts to schools and hospitals to protect civil service benefits after the constitutional court rejected austerity measures that would have reduced holiday bonuses and other public sector perks.

The government has had to scramble to find new areas to cut after the court concluded that it was unfair to single out civil servants for reductions in benefits under measures imposed to meet the terms of an international bailout programme.

The decision deepens the divide between a protected class of civil servants and other workers, whose lives have become far more precarious during the worst recession since the 1970s.