Portugal main union calls general strike on Nov. 14

LISBON Oct 3 (Reuters) - Portugal's biggest umbrella union, the CGTP, said on Wednesday it will stage a general strike on Nov. 14 to protest against a new batch of tax hikes announced by the government a few hours earlier.

The centre-right government announced the new tax hikes to meet fiscal goals imposed on the recession-hit country under a 78-billion-euro EU/IMF bailout.

"This is an authentic programme of aggression against the workers and the people ... The consequences for the workers and their families are brutal -- general impoverishment, drastic worsening of living conditions and life expectancy," CGTP said in a statement.

Previous strikes by the country's top unions over the past two years have had little impact, but strife has intensified lately in protest against a planned social security tax hike, which the government had to abandon after mass rallies.