Lisbon, July 22, 2024 (Lusa) - A strike on Monday by employees of Portugal's state-owned national rail operator, CP - Caminhos de Portugal, led to the cancellation of 92 of the 146 trains scheduled trains between midnight and 7 a.m., or 63% of the total, according to data sent by the company to Lusa.
CP says that none of the six scheduled long-distance trains ran and that 29 of the 44 regional trains due to run were cancelled.
According to the company, there were 60 scheduled suburban sevices in Lisbon and 38 were cancelled, while 15 of the 30 scheduled suburban services in Porto were cancelled.
The coordinator of the Federation of Transport and Communications Unions (Fectrans), José Manuel Oliveira, told Lusa that at 7.30 a.m. there was a strong response from workers to the strike, with only the legally mandated skeleton service being carried out.
"The first balance is very positive," he said. "We have a strong turnout between midnight and 7.30 a.m., with traffic disruptions. The ticket offices at the stations are closed."
According to Oliveira, expectations are high for the rest of the day, since there are services with different schedules.
CP employees are holding a one-day strike on Monday, to be repeated on Wednesday, both called by various unions.
The Arbitration Tribunal decreed minimum services of 20% for suburban and regional trains.
It decision covers Regional and Interregional services (on the Minho, Douro, East, West, Beira Baixa and North lines - in the latter case to and from Coimbra/Entroncamento) and the Urban (suburban) services (Azambuja, Coimbra and Guimarães lines).
"We would like to inform you that, due to strikes called by the ASCEF, ASSIFECO, FENTCOP, SINAFE, SINDEFER, SINFA, SINFB, SIOFA, SNAQ, SNTSF, STF and STMEFE unions, for the period between 00:00 and 24:00 on 22 and 24 July 2024, there are expected to be traffic disruptions with an impact on 22 and 24 July," CP said in a statement released last week. "Customers who have already purchased tickets to travel on Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, International, Interregional and Regional trains will be reimbursed the full value of the ticket purchased, or will be able to change for free to another train in the same category and class."
CP employees also went on strike on 28 June.
For the unions, "it is unacceptable" that CP's management, after having guaranteed that it would extend to all workers an agreement that was concluded with a trade union organisation, wants to make this conditional on accepting its proposal for new career rules.
The government, CP and the National Union of Portuguese Railway Train Drivers (SMAQ), which had called a strike between 27 June and 14 July that was later suspended, recently reached an agreement.
The operator also reached an agreement with the Itinerant Commercial Revision Railway Union (SFRCI) regarding the revision of careers, including a salary increase of 1.5% and a rise in the daily meal allowance to €9.20.
Fectrans argued that the proposal "increases the versatility of functions and does not valorise the salary scale" - which it said was a "strategic measure" to help recruit new workers and retain current ones.
DD/ARO // ARO.
Lusa
