On Friday, Portugal’s largest trade union alliance called a general strike for 24 November to protest against the government’s austerity measures.

The General Confederation of Portuguese Workers, which groups about 700,000 members from dozens of unions, said the walkout was part of its fight against the government’s debt-reduction plan.

The centre-left Socialist government plans to raise taxes and cut pay and welfare benefits to alleviate a debt crisis that has threatened to engulf the country.

The confederation’s secretary-general Manuel Carvalho da Silva said the strike aimed to press the government to consider “alternative ways” of resolving the fiscal problems.

The slightly smaller General Workers’ Union, another umbrella group that also opposes the austerity measures, said it would consider instructing its members to join the strike.

The two groups represent mostly blue-collar workers and civil servants.

Greece and Spain, two other countries which use the euro and which have piled up huge debts, have also witnessed general strikes in recent months as workers seethe at cost-cutting programmes.

Portugal’s budget deficit reached 9.3 per cent of gross domestic product last year, the fourth-highest deficit among the 16 eurozone countries.

Growing doubts on international markets about the country’s ability to meet its financial obligations brought a surge in Portugal’s borrowing costs.

Investors gave the austerity plan, which must be approved by Parliament before it can be enacted, a cautious welcome. The interest rate on Portuguese 10-year bonds fell to 6.1 percent Friday, down from a euro-era record high of 6.5 per cent earlier this week.

The European Commission, the European Central Bank and other eurozone nations have also endorsed the government’s austerity package.

Unions, however, expressed anger that workers would bear the brunt of efforts to restore Portugal’s financial health. The national unemployment rate is close to 11 per cent.

The government’s plan entails a five per cent cut in public sector pay for those earning more than €1,500 a month and a freeze on civil service promotions and pension levels next year, as well as cuts in some welfare benefits by up to 25 per cent.

The government estimates about 450,000 state employees will take home less pay under the plan.

But daily business paper Jornal de Noticias calculated that that when the elimination of tax breaks and cuts in subsidies are taken into account, some 3.5 million people will be worse-off.