The strike by workers of CP – Comboios de Portugal scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday will proceed without minimum services, following a decision by the Arbitration Court, leading the company to announce that train circulation cannot be guaranteed.
“Significant disruptions in train services are anticipated, especially from May 7 to 13. As the Arbitration Court of the Economic and Social Council has not defined minimum services, CP does not guarantee train operations particularly on May 7, 8, and 9,” stated an updated communication on the transport company’s website.
The Arbitration Court unanimously decided not to establish any minimum services for the strike occurring from midnight on May 7 to midnight on May 14, 2025, and for the strike from midnight on May 7 to midnight on May 8, 2025.
However, services essential for safety and the maintenance of equipment and facilities will be ensured, including emergency services and rescue trains. All trains that have already commenced their journeys must be directed to their destinations.
While considering establishing minimum services for May 7, 8, and 9, days when the strike significantly escalates, the Arbitration Court acknowledged viable alternatives to rail transport exist for the urban lines of Lisbon and Porto due to high demand from these populations.
“However, implementing such measures proved unadvisable, as it failed to ensure the levels of social necessity without fundamentally undermining the right to strike while maintaining the minimum safety standards for passengers accessing railway station platforms and using the trains,” highlighted the panel of arbitrators chaired by Jorge Bacelar Gouveia.
Last week, on a day when a power outage affected Portugal and Spain for several hours, a strike by CP inspectors without minimum services led to a total halt of services until 10:00 AM, as indicated in the company’s last update before the blackout around 11:30 AM.
What’s at stake?
Several unions representing CP workers have filed a strike notice from midnight on May 7 to midnight on May 8, protesting against the imposition of salary increases “that do not restore purchasing power” and advocating for “collective negotiation of dignified salary increases.”
The workers are also advocating for the “implementation of the salary table restructuring agreement as negotiated and agreed.”
The strike notice was issued by the Associação Sindical das Chefias Intermédias de Exploração Ferroviária (ASCEF), Associação Sindical Independente dos Ferroviários da Carreira Comercial (ASSIFECO), Federação dos Sindicatos dos Transportes e Comunicações (FECTRANS), Sindicato Nacional dos Transportes Comunicações e Obras Públicas (FENTCOP), Sindicato Nacional dos Ferroviários do Movimento e Afins (SINAFE), Sindicato Nacional Democrático da Ferrovia (SINDEFER), and the Sindicato Independente dos Trabalhadores Ferroviários das Infraestruturas e Afins (SINFA).
The Sindicato Independente Nacional dos Ferroviários (SINFB), Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores dos Transportes e Indústria (SINTTI), Sindicato Independente dos Operacionais Ferroviários e Afins (SIOFA), Sindical Nacional de Quadros Técnicos (SNAQ), Sindicato Nacional dos Trabalhadores do Setor Ferroviário (SNTSF), Sindicato dos Transportes Ferroviários (STF), and Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Metro e Ferroviários (STMEFE) also backed the notice.
