Lisbon, July 22, 2024 (Lusa) - Portugal's incumbent train operator CP has accused the unions that called the strike taking place today and on Wednesday of ‘harming their members’ by refusing to reach an agreement, according to a statement the railway company released on Monday.
‘This morning, some union leaders belonging to the unions that called today's strike have been making statements to the press that do not correspond to the truth,’ the carrier begins, saying that its Board of Directors ‘has always been available to meet, listen and negotiate with the unions’. According to the management, the last of these meetings took place ‘last Saturday afternoon, with the aim of reaching an agreement on the revision of the company's Career Regulations’, and, according to the company, at these meetings, ‘CP's Board of Directors presented these unions with the same negotiating conditions that were agreed with the train drivers’ (SMAQ) and ticket inspectors‘’ (SFRCI) unions'. CP pointed out that ‘these conditions include a pay rise of 1.5% and an increase in the meal allowance to €9.20 per day, both with effect from 1 August’.
‘It should be emphasised that these increases are in addition to the pay rises that the company already awarded to all workers at the beginning of the year, following negotiations also held with the unions,’ it said.
CP's Board of Directors then said that it ‘does not accept the accusation that the proposal sent later and agreed with the unions was different from what was previously agreed at that meeting’, regretting that every time it ‘tries to satisfy one of the unions’ demands to achieve the call-off of the strike, these unions come up with a new demand of pecuniary content’.
‘CP treats all workers fairly and equitably and therefore does not accept negotiating different salary conditions for its workers,’ he argued, pointing out that ‘by refusing to reach an agreement and sign the agreement on the Career Regulations, these unions are harming their members, preventing them from receiving the aforementioned increase of 1.5% and the increase in the meal allowance to €9.20, like the rest of the company's workers’.
CP workers are holding a one-day strike today, to be repeated on Wednesday, called by several unions.
The Arbitration Court decreed minimum services of % for urban and regional trains.
For the unions, ‘it's unacceptable’ that CP's management, after having said that it would extend to all workers an agreement that was concluded with a trade union organisation, wants to make this conditional on accepting the proposal for career regulations.
The government, CP and the National Union of Portuguese Railway Train Drivers (SMAQ), which had called a strike between 27 June and 14 July, which was suspended, recently reached an agreement. The operator also agreed with the Itinerant Commercial Review Railway Union (SFRCI).
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