Miguel Sousa Tavares expressed his views on Thursday regarding the potential amendment of strike laws, a proposal brought forward by Luís Montenegro amidst the ongoing strike by CP train workers, which has sparked criticism from opposition parties. Currently, train services are completely halted, as no minimum services have been decreed.
“I believe Luís Montenegro gained many votes today, and Pedro Nuno Santos lost many votes – because it’s clear that a solution for CP is necessary“, he stated during his commentary segment on CNN Portugal.
Analyzing the situation, Miguel Sousa Tavares noted that despite what he described as “poor service,” the CP transports “half a million” passengers daily.
“Half a million people need the train – primarily for work. They are the poorest, the most vulnerable, they are foreign workers, they are cleaning women. It’s all of this. This cannot continue”, he argued, adding that in his view, altering the strike law would not be the right solution.
The CP train drivers receive 17 different allowances. One of them – I’m not sure if it’s applicable to everyone – is an allowance for every day they work. This is a joke
“This cannot continue. I would not change the strike law. The main problem isn’t the strike law. Of course, some strikes must be regulated somehow. The issue here isn’t the strike law. It’s the company. The only solution is to liquidate CP. Let it go bankrupt, liquidate it, and at the same time, establish another public company and open railway transport to private firms so we can be a country with serious train transport like Spain,” he argued.
“The CP train drivers have 17 types of allowances. One of them – I’m not sure if it’s applicable to everyone – is an allowance for each day they work. This is a joke,” he stated, indicating that it was unsustainable to spend “billions of euros” on the company, especially regarding high-speed projects that were “put on hold whenever they wanted.”
