The Union of Public and Social Services Workers of the South and Autonomous Regions (STFPSSRA) has publicly expressed its indignation over what it considers "another episode of discriminatory treatment" towards workers at the University of Madeira (UMa) and the Social Action Services (SASUMa), compared to other public servants in the Autonomous Region of Madeira.
The union structure argues that the higher education institution, despite being under the Republic's Government, operates in the archipelago and therefore "should apply the labor regime in force in the Region, ensuring equal treatment for its workers." The union's stance comes in reaction to the Rectorate's refusal to grant UMa and SASUMa employees the "tolerance of point" days granted by the Regional Government of Madeira for the Madeira Wine Rally.
For the STFPSSRA, this is a "decision that reveals an incomprehensible lack of institutional sensitivity," noting that the measure occurs during a period without academic activity and during one of the island's major cultural and sporting events. The union recalls that the UMa rectorate has adopted a "repeated practice" leading to inequality in access to labor rights, such as applying the national minimum wage instead of the regional one and the Republic's holiday regime over the regional one.
