General Confederation of Labour (Portugal) - Ditadura Nacional and Estado Novo

Ditadura Nacional and Estado Novo

After the 28th May 1926 coup d'état, the labour movement suffered great repression and the General Confederation of Labour would be dismantled. In 1927, it attempted a general strike against the government, which failed and led to 100 dead, the deportation of about 600 individuals involved in the conflicts to overseas territories, and the banning of the CGT, A Batalha, numerous individual trade unions, and the May Day demonstrations.

At first, the confederation council and the national committee continued their work in secret, publishing a regular Information Bulletin, but on 2 November 1927, an assault by the government, which included arrests and attacks on suspected union offices by the police, further restricted union activity. The CGT continued to exist nonetheless. In 1929, it was even able to regain legality in a judicial battle, which it retained until 23 September 1933, when two government decrees banned all non-state-controlled trade unions. A general strike by the CGT and other organizations called for on 18 January 1934 failed. The illegal activities by the CGT were then limited to Lisbon and the Algarve. In 1938, Emídio Santana, the secretary-general of the federation, took part in a failed assassination attempt on Salazar. The ensuing repression killed off the CGT completely.