The ongoing strike initiated by the Train Drivers’ Union (SMAQ) is set to continue from Saturday to Wednesday, focusing on supplementary work, including work on weekly rest days, as stated on the union’s website.
A new strike, also lasting until Wednesday, is scheduled to commence on Sunday. This action involves the Itinerant Commercial Revision Railway Union (SFRCI), including inspectors and ticket office staff.
This partial strike will affect operations between 05:00 and 08:30 on Monday and Tuesday, as explained by SFRCI President Luís Bravo. On Sunday and Wednesday, the strike will have a “residual” impact on long-distance train services, he added.
For this phase of the strike, the Arbitration Court has mandated a minimum service of 25%, with the list of trains available on the CP website.
Since Wednesday, May 7, various unions, including the SMAQ, have been on strike. In this instance, no minimum services were mandated, resulting in a total halt of operations.
The SMAQ is demanding compliance with the agreement reached on April 24 between the CP administration and the unions, asserting that “the Government cannot seek the merits of negotiation and then evade its responsibilities in implementation.”
The ongoing strike, which began on Wednesday and will continue until May 14, was called in protest against the imposition of salary increases that “do not restore purchasing power,” and for “collective negotiation of fair salary increases” and the “implementation of the restructuring of salary tables as negotiated and agreed,” according to the unions.
