Ambulance crews have called a strike. What happens next?

The service you call in a medical emergency is heading for a strike, and the government says it did not see it coming. It's Saturday, 15 August, Assumption Day. Twenty-nine degrees. Air quality: 34 (Good). Here's what you need to know.

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PORTUGAL'S AMBULANCE CREWS CALL TWO STRIKES OVER A CONTESTED REFORM

The union representing Portugal's pre-hospital emergency technicians, the people who crew the ambulances and handle the medical side of the 112 emergency line, has called two strikes for September, on the 14th and the 28th, in a dispute over how the service is being reformed. INEM, the National Institute for Medical Emergencies, is the body that responds when you make an emergency medical call.

The fight is over ambulances. Under the reform, INEM would hand 54 emergency ambulances to local hospital units and convert 46 immediate-life-support ambulances into lighter vehicles that can no longer carry patients, which the unions say amounts to stripping 100 ambulances out of the service. They argue the change would hit 71 municipalities, among them Lisbon, Porto, Coimbra and Setúbal, pushing the burden onto firefighters and the Red Cross and lengthening response times. Their conditions for calling off the strike are the suspension of the reform, the reversal of the ambulance decision, and the resignation of INEM's president, Luís Cabral.

INEM sees it very differently. Cabral has rejected the whole premise, calling the idea that 100 ambulances are being removed "false" and "irresponsible," and insists the reform strengthens and reorganises the service rather than cutting it, with everything staying operational. The Health Minister, Ana Paula Martins, said she was "surprised" by the strike, called it "strange," and voiced hope the unions would reconsider, pointing to ongoing pay talks and saying the technicians' careers had been "one of the most valued" by this government. The demand for Cabral's resignation she called non-negotiable, noting he won the job through a public competition rather than a government appointment.

The stakes here are not abstract. Portugal's emergency medical system has been under strain for years, short of hundreds of technicians and heavily dependent on overtime, and previous INEM strikes have been linked by official inquiries to delays in reaching patients, and in some cases to deaths. That history is why a walkout in this particular service carries a weight that most do not.

What this means for you: the strikes are still weeks off, on 14 and 28 September, and by law a minimum level of cover has to be kept even if they go ahead, so 112 will still answer. But if you or someone close to you relies on the emergency system, it is worth knowing that the coming weeks bring both the strike dates and a live argument over how many ambulances the service actually runs.

Bottom line: the service you call in your worst moment is heading into a standoff with its own staff over whether it is being reformed or hollowed out, and the answer matters to everyone who might one day need it.

⚡ QUICK HITS

The government wants to make it easier for landlords to end rental contracts for renovations. Under a proposed reform now heading to parliament, landlords would be able to end open-ended tenancies when major renovation or restoration work requires the property to be emptied, with the notice period cut from five years to three. The two sides would then have 30 days, down from 60, to agree on either compensation or rehousing, and if they cannot, the tenant would be owed at least two years' rent. Extra protection stays for tenants over 65 or with a significant certified disability, who must be offered suitable alternative housing. It is part of a wider, landlord-friendly overhaul of the rental rules, and it still needs parliament's sign-off.

A young British cyclist has died at the Volta a Portugal. Finlay Tarling, a 19-year-old rider with the NSN Development Team, was killed on Friday during the eighth stage of the race in the north of the country after a collision with a car. Early reports say the vehicle was on the wrong side of the road, though the exact circumstances are still being established. Prime Minister Luís Montenegro led the tributes, saying the news had left the country "extremely shaken" and sending condolences to the rider's family and team.

A luxury resort is being accused of walling off public beaches. A television investigation this week showed the exclusive CostaTerra resort near Melides, on the Alentejo coast, using gates, fences and private security to block access to stretches of beach that are, under Portuguese law, entirely public, and charging up to €350 a day for a sunbed once you are inside. The environmental group Quercus has demanded explanations from the Environment Minister and the mayor of Grândola, accusing the authorities of claiming public access had been restored when it had not. Every beach in Portugal is legally open to all, which is precisely why the "fortress of the millionaires" has struck a nerve.

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🍽️ SPOT OF THE DAY

ROSIE'S (ANJOS)

Anjos, a bit scruffy and increasingly the address for some of Lisbon's best new eating and drinking, is where you will find Rosie's, a small natural-wine bar and deli in a former ice-cream shop on Rua do Forno do Tijolo. It is the work of Sophie, an Australian who walked away from a branding career in Paris to open it, and it has become a fixture on one of the city's hottest food streets.

The wine is natural, poured by the glass from small independent producers, and the food is a short, sharp list that punches well above the size of the room: a French onion soup with a cheese-loaded toast that people come back for, a grilled cheese with anchovies, and good boards of cheese, salami and Cantabrian anchovies. Prices are fair, walk-ins are welcome, and the crowd is more local than tourist.

Worth knowing before you go: it is a natural-wine bar and bottle shop rather than a full restaurant, open afternoons and evenings, and better suited to a lingering drink and a bite than a sit-down dinner. It is small, so on a busy night you may find yourself standing or sitting outside, which is part of the charm.

See what's on and find them here

Insider tip: bring a friend or two, it's very easy to share a bottle here. As Julia Child put it, "drinking good wine with good food in good company is one of life's most civilised pleasures."

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See you tomorrow morning.

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