This position was transmitted to journalists in a press conference at the Academia de Santo Amaro, in Lisbon, at the end of a meeting organized by the boards of the National Association of Sergeants, Association of Armed Forces Officers and Association of Soldiers, about their socio-professional conditions.

"We have seen several professional sectors negotiating with their respective tutelages, from education to health to security and others, to justice, and with the military what we heard was the Minister of Defense saying that he would meet with the Minister of Finance and with the military leaders", lamented the president of the National Association of Sergeants (ANS), who spoke on behalf of the three associations.

António Lima Coelho stressed that "the socio-professional associations of military personnel have their own law that recognizes them" and considered that "both the political tutelage and the military leaders are slow to understand the scope of this law and to integrate professional associations in the discussion of socio-professional problems".

The military associations demand, "first of all, the revision of a remuneration regime that has been in force since January 1, 2010 and that has not been discussed since 2009, with occasional patches here and there", as well as "a career development that is slow to be uniform and, above all, matters that bring attractiveness and retention", he said.

Based on the motion approved today, they expect that "the Minister of National Defense will then find an agenda to meet with professional associations, together or separately", to start "effectively working on finding solutions", said the sergeant-major.

"Solutions that should not involve waiting for what may or may not be found for professionals in the security forces and services -- with all due respect to these professionals and the solidarity we have for them", he defended.

According to the president of the ANS, "it is good that their situations [of the security forces and services] are resolved", but "they cannot be shaped for the military of the Armed Forces", because "the mission, the specificity is completely different".

"For the military, specific solutions must be found", he reinforced.

Questioned about the decision announced today by Minister Nuno Melo to request an audit of licenses granted by the Ministry of National Defense since 2015, the president of the ANS commented: "Let's hope that this news, which is important, also does not put the demands of the men and women who serve in Defense in second place".

"It is important that these audits are carried out, if the Minister understood that there was reason to do so, because National Defense and those who work and serve in it cannot be under any suspicion. However, the same speed with which the Minister found material to carry out these audits would be interesting to have found to discuss with professional associations mechanisms to solve the problems that have been dragging on for decades", he added.

Asked if the military associations have planned protest actions, Lima Coelho replied: "For now, no concrete actions are being considered here, but none can be ruled out of all those that we have used in the past and had as a mechanism, and others that our imagination and creativity may bring, although we defend the principle that it is not desirable for the military to have to demonstrate publicly".

The president of the ANS blamed "successive governments" for the "exiguous state of the Armed Forces" and asked for attention to the "conditions of attractiveness, retention and quality of work and life" of the military.

"We have never had such a low number of troops. However, the missions are increasing, many of them for the good name and joy of successive government representatives", he criticized.

Lima Coelho said that the military carry out these missions "as best they can", in some cases with "equipment that is starting to border on the obsolete", adding: "But there are limits to what are labor rights, citizenship rights and that we have to resume".

[News updated at 19:56]

Read Also: PCP classifies the audit of Defense licenses as positive (Portuguese version)