Thousands of people demonstrated in several Portuguese cities on Saturday demanding higher wages, ahead of a snap legislative election next month.

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Portugal’s president called the polls for May 18 — the third national ballot in barely three years — after the minority centre-right government of Prime Minister Luis Montenegro lost a confidence vote in March over a scandal linked to public contracts.

“It’s necessary to change policy, that’s the message we want to send to the next government,” Celia Matos, a 52-year-old nurse from the capital Lisbon, told AFP.

“In the past, people were poor, but they had a right to dignity. Today, that’s no longer the case!” said Vitor Botas, a 62-year-old retired member of the military, highlighting the country’s housing crisis and growing number of homeless people.

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In Lisbon, but also Porto in the north and the central city of Coimbra, protesters demanded wage increases of at least 15 percent, and a minimum raise of 150 euros for all workers.

Union leader Filipe Pereira told local media the movement was a way of “putting workers’ real demands on the agenda” as political parties move ahead with pre-election campaigning.

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The latest polls show that the moderate right-wing coalition holds a very slight lead over the socialist opposition, while the far right remains in third place, in line with the result of the last elections in March 2024.