The strike by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) workers led today, between 00:00 and 14:00, to the suppression of more than 80% of the trains planned by CP, in a total of 560 that did not take place.
According to data from the carrier, 694 trains were planned for this period and 560 were suppressed, a suppression level of 80.7%. CP had estimated 137 trains in minimum services and 134 were carried out.
On the long-distance service, only five trains ran, out of an estimated 39, and on the regional service, CP ran 35 trains out of 167 planned.
Lisbon’s urban trains ran 58 out of 329 scheduled trains and Porto’s only 31 out of 140 scheduled trains.
In the urban areas of Coimbra, there were five trains out of an estimated 19.
In a statement published today on its website, the Federation of Transport and Communications Unions (Fectrans) said that the strike by IP workers, which manages the rail and road networks, “registers a strong adhesion, which results in a huge disruption of the movement of passenger and freight trains and the suspension, today, of the numerous works taking place in the infrastructures, as well as the paralysis of the various activities of these companies”.
Fectrans recalled that “workers are fighting for the negotiation of the mid-term increase, as happened in other public companies and are demanding, under the terms of the commitment made by the Minister of the tutelage last May 08, that the review of professional careers begins, as is already happening in other companies”.
The Federation also said that the Government “gave a guideline for public companies, which they complied with and where agreements were made, only the IP administration did not comply”.
In a statement released today, IP said, in turn, “that it guaranteed the opening of the railway channel to carry out all the trains defined as minimum services by the Arbitration Court (CES), in a decision that conditioned and limited rail traffic to approximately 25% of the daily rail service of the CP and Fertagus operators”.
In addition, IP “reports that it has registered a strike adherence of 2.8% of the workers scheduled to work”.