30 Aug 2013

Public sector sackings in Portugal ruled unconstitutional

12:12 pm on 30 August 2013

Portugal's highest court has ruled that a government plan to make it easier to sack public servants is unconstitutional.

The court on Thursday said the measures contravened state job safety guarantees.

Under the terms of a bailout in May 2011, the government has promised creditors a big reduction in its budget deficit. However other austerity measures have already been rejected by the same court.

The BBC reports the government wants to cut 30,000 public jobs from a pool of 500,000, saving 4.7 billion euros by the end of next year.

President Anibal Cavaco Silva had asked the constitutional court to decide on the legality of the recent bill.