This morning in Santa Maria da Feira, union leader Hélder Borges, representing Fectrans – Transport and Communications Union Federation, and STRUP – Union of Road and Urban Transport Workers of Portugal, announced during a meeting with some of the approximately 100 drivers operating Unir routes in Vila Nova de Gaia and Espinho.
“This afternoon, we have a mediation meeting with the Directorate-General for Employment and Labour Relations, but we are not very optimistic because the companies are not very willing to change what is necessary,” said the unionist to Lusa, emphasizing that Unir and Feirense blame each other and “have not admitted that they are both responsible.”
The dispute, according to Hélder Borges, stems from “impossible schedules,” which forces bus drivers to work overtime, “under pressure,” and consequently leads to the suppression of some routes due to consecutive delays that they simply cannot service.”
“If you ask the passengers, they will immediately say that the timetables are not being adhered to and that sometimes they are left waiting at stops for buses that do not show up. It’s impossible to be otherwise because, after a 10 or 15-minute delay in each route, eventually an entire schedule already disappears,” he explained.
In an attempt to mitigate the problem, “the drivers are driving six consecutive hours when they can only do four or five,” meaning they become overloaded, “tired, without breaks,” and stressed by being constantly “subjected to user complaints,” which “endangers road safety.”
“It is no coincidence that since January, about 30 or 40 drivers have left the companies,” highlighted Hélder Borges, stating that there were not enough new hires to appropriately replace these professionals, leading to the remaining drivers being “even more overburdened.”
“When a serious accident happens, I want to see who will be blamed,” said the union leader, who had already alerted to the same risk in mid-September.
Lusa attempted to contact Auto-Viação Feirense by phone, which also owns the Beira Douro brand, but the calls were not answered.
Regarding the Unir network, managed by Transportes Metropolitanos do Porto, this entity had already defended during the September strike promoted by STRUP and Fectrans that all defined schedules for Gaia and Espinho routes are “perfectly viable” and that it does not have “any responsibility for the work schedules assigned to drivers nor the workload they claim.”
“It is up to the operator to allocate the lines to be serviced by each professional and ensure their good physical and mental condition,” it noted.
In the Unir network, Nex Continental operates in the North East Lot (Santo Tirso/Valongo/Paredes/Gondomar), Porto Mobilidade in North West (Póvoa de Varzim/Vila do Conde), Vianorbus in North Center (Maia/Matosinhos/Trofa), Transportes Beira Douro in South West (Vila Nova de Gaia and Espinho), and Xerbus in South East (Santa Maria da Feira/São João da Madeira/Arouca/Oliveira de Azeméis/Vale de Cambra).
