The Economic and Social Council’s Arbitral Tribunal has issued a statement following widespread reports and controversies regarding ongoing strikes at CP, Portugal’s national railway operator. The Tribunal clarified that these are not isolated strikes occurring from May 7 to May 14, but rather multiple strikes called by various unions, exercising their right to strike as outlined in Article 57 of the Constitution.
The Tribunal emphasized that the absence of defined minimum service does not contradict legal precedent, noting that no agreement was reached between CP and the unions regarding minimum service levels.
In light of this, the Tribunal requested CP to indicate service composition that would correspond to 15% of its usual nationwide train circulation. This was to focus particularly on urban lines in Lisbon and Porto during peak times—early morning and late afternoon—over three days. CP complied with this request.
However, CP later advised that maintaining 15% service on Lisbon and Porto urban lines could not ensure passenger safety, both in stations and on trains.
Given these circumstances, the Tribunal considered it inadvisable to mandate a 15% minimum service due to the serious risk posed to passenger safety, as CP indicated it could not guarantee this safety.
The proposal for 15% service aimed to balance protecting the essential right to strike with fulfilling unavoidable social transportation needs. Yet, since CP contended that a limited number of trains would lead to uncontrolled crowd accumulation in stations and on trains, the Tribunal decided not to implement this measure.
The issue has been prominent in the electoral campaign, particularly after the government called on Tuesday for CP unions to cancel a strike it deemed “without objectives,” following the presentation of a salary increase proposal of 5.75 million euros, which went unanswered.
Infrastructure Minister Miguel Pinto Luz expressed regret at a press conference in Lisbon, stating, “The government acted in total good faith, but there has been no openness from the unions up to this point.”
Meanwhile, the National Union of Portuguese Railway Engineers (SMAQ) refuted claims that the CP strike has political motivations, blaming the government for the disruption caused to the public by not honoring a negotiated agreement.
