Postal workers go on strike in Portugal

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Workers employed by Portugal's Postal Service (CTT) went on strike on Friday in protest against deteriorating working conditions, redundancies and post office closures.

The strike began at midnight on Thursday and will last for 24 hours. Organizers told Lusa Portuguese News Agency that an initial count suggested 70 percent observance among staff.

Many of those taking part in the strike action assembled in Lisbon to protest outside the prime minister's official residence.

The dispute relates to a reform plan announced by management in December, which proposes to lay off 800 members of staff and closes up to 22 post office branches.

The postal service was privatized in 2014 as a requirement of Portugal's financial bailout package. Portugal received 78 billion euros (95.9 billion U.S. dollars) in rescue funding from the European Union and International Monetary Fund in 2012, on condition that it sold off or privatized a number of state enterprises.

On Thursday, the Portuguese Communist Party (PCP), the Greens (PEV) and the Left Bloc (BE) put forth parliamentary motions to return the CTT to public control and to cancel the current private concession.

The Socialist Party (PS) government rejected the motions, backed by the center-right Social Democratic Party (PSD) and Central Social Democratic-Popular Party (CDS-PP).