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Summary Hundreds of pensioners protested against saving schemes of government.
A large number of old pensioners took to streets to protest against austerity measures imposed as part of an EU/IMF bailout.Last month, the Portuguese parliament approved the suspension of holiday and year-end bonuses for pensioners, while at the same time raising taxes. Portugal’s 78-billion-euro emergency bailout was agreed with the European Union and the IMF in May, after similar deals with Greece and Ireland.Economic analysts are predicting the country will experience its deepest recession since 1974 in 2012, with the economy expected to contract by three percent. The government is trying to cut this years budget deficit to 5.9 percent of GDP -- from nearly 10 percent in 2010.
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