Big Portugal union counts out strife for now-INTERVIEW

PORTUGAL-CRISIS/UNION

* Not planning more strife, expects dialogue

* Hopes to avoid labour law changes on firing

* No position yet on possible bailout

LISBON, Nov 30 (Reuters) - Portugal's second-largest union, which organised the biggest general strike in decades last week, is counting out further mass action for now as the country tries to avoid a bailout.

Pedro Roque, Deputy General Secrtetary of the 500,000-strong Workers' General Union (UGT), told Reuters in an interview on Tuesday that labour leaders now had to get involved in a dialogue with the government so as to avoid drastic new austerity measures from the government. "Essentially, at this phase we are available for negotiations. It does not make sense threatening new strikes. We don't do labour struggle for the sake of the struggle," Roque said.

Last Wednesday, the UGT and the 750,000-strong CGTP unions staged what they said was the country's largest general strike, with 3 million workers taking part. They stopped trains and buses, grounded planes and disrupted various services.

It was the first strike since 1988 promoted by both main unions. The UGT is traditionally close to the ruling center-left Socialists, while the CGTP is more left-wing.

Few unionists really expected the government to back off on the austerity measures already approved as part of the 2011 budget, which include tax hikes and a 5 percent public servants wage cut, he said.

"We've shown that we are unanimously against such measures, but now we want to be part of the negotiations and dicussions so that any new potential package of measures is not harmful, so that it does not kill the patient with the cure."

The UGT is most concerned about the prospects of changes to the labour code that could make firing workers easier and that is something it wants to avoid via negotiations, he said.

The government has said it will start a dialogue with the unions and companies to reform the labour market in order to increase competitiveness.

DIALOGUE, NOT CONFRONTATION

Analysts doubt the unpopular Socialist administration has the political will or stamina to bring in the constitutional changes needed to make firing and hiring easier. [ID:nLDE6AS1PK]

Such changes, designed to make the labour market more responsive to economic downturns and pick-ups in activity, are advocated by institutions like the International Monetary Fund.

Portugal is seen by many investors as the next weak link in the euro zone and a candidate for a bailout from the European Union and the IMF.

Roque said the union still did not have a defined stance on a possible need for IMF aid, which would most likely come with tough conditions aimed at further fiscal tightening.

"We will have to analyse the situation after they are called in, if that happens. We cannot say beforehand what our actions will be. The IMF could in theory have a beneficial effect on the economy if borrowing costs fall," he said.

"We have to be vigilant so that the government does not just use the IMF as a scapegoat to propose some other measures that it didn't have the political guts to come up with."

He said the UGT understands that the main thing to avoid is the break-up of the euro zone.

"That we consider an enormous setback for everyone. We do understand that we have to solve our problems in Portugal via dialogue," he said.

(Reporting by Andrei Khalip; Editing by Angus MacSwan)