According to a statement from the federation, the workers will return to the strike as part of the holiday strike that has been taking place throughout the year, because "no proposal to change the situation has yet been presented by the government."

The union revealed in its statement that it met on July 15th with the new Minister of Culture, Youth, and Sports, Margarida Balseiro Lopes, and with the board of directors of the public company Museus e Monumentos de Portugal (MMP). "No response was given to the demands presented, maintaining the current rate of pay for work on public holidays for workers at museums, monuments, and archaeological sites."

The workers are demanding "fair compensation" for work performed on public holidays and also for overtime, which they consider insufficiently paid, and only up to two hours of overtime, although they sometimes have to work more than that amount of time in total.

"It is in exchange for paltry compensation that in no way reflects the demands and responsibility of the job that workers keep museums, monuments, and archaeological sites open on public holidays, ensuring the safety of the heritage and the proper functioning of these facilities with professionalism and dedication, without even being entitled to compensatory rest," the federation alleges.

In the statement, they state that, "in 2024, the 38 facilities of the Museums and Monuments of Portugal had ticket revenue of €21,217,432.00," generated from "tourism and study visits organized by schools, confirming the central role of heritage in culture."

"This problem has been dragging on for years, without successive PSD and PS governments, with or without CDS, taking a decision to value the work performed on holidays," they further argue in the statement.

The 38 museums, monuments, and national palaces managed by the Museums and Monuments of Portugal include the National Palace of Mafra, the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower (Lisbon), and the Convent of Christ (Tomar). Union leader Orlando Almeida estimated that around a thousand employees work in the 38 museums, monuments, and national palaces managed by the Museums and Monuments of Portugal, including the Mafra National Palace, the Jerónimos Monastery and Belém Tower (Lisbon), and the Convent of Christ (Tomar).

Holiday strikes have closed several museums and monuments across the country, including some of the most visited in Portugal.