Lisbon, May 7, 2025 (Lusa) - Train traffic will be disrupted from today, Wednesday, until 14 May due to strikes by CP - Comboios de Portugal workers called by various unions.
"Since no minimum services have been defined by the Arbitration Court of the Social Economic Council, CP cannot guarantee that trains will run, especially on 7, 8 and 9 May," the railway company said in an alert published on its website on Tuesday.
CP therefore expects heavy traffic disruption on those days, with a particular impact between today and 13 May, due to the strikes against the imposition of wage increases "that do not restore purchasing power", for "collective bargaining for decent wage increases" and for "the implementation of the agreement to restructure the wage tables, under the terms in which they were negotiated and agreed", according to the unions.
According to the Arbitration Court's decision, the strikes will not have minimum services, just like the strike on 28 April, which, according to the union, was fully adhered to.
"The Arbitration Court unanimously decided not to set any minimum services for the "strike between 00:00 on 7 May and 24:00 on 14 May 2025 and strike from 00:00 on 7 May to 24:00 on 8 May 2025"," reads the decision published on the Economic and Social Council's website on 2 May.
However, the services necessary for the safety and maintenance of equipment and facilities, emergency services, rescue trains and all trains that have started their journey must be taken to their destination.
The Arbitration Court said that it considered ordering minimum services for the 7th, 8th and 9th, when the stoppage takes on a greater dimension, even though it understood that there were alternatives to rail transport for the urban lines of Lisbon and Porto, given the great pressure of demand from those populations.
"It turns out, however, that its implementation [...] proved inadvisable because it did not ensure, concerning the percentage that was judged to correspond to the satisfaction of unavoidable social needs without, at the same time, annihilating the fundamental core of the right to strike, the minimum safety standards for users when accessing the railway station platforms and using the trains, according to the information obtained from the company," stressed the panel of arbitrators chaired by Jorge Bacelar Gouveia.
Last week, on the day that an electricity failure affected Portugal and Spain for several hours, a strike by CP ticket inspectors, with no minimum services, led to the total paralysis of traffic until 10:00. This was the last update from the company until the blackout at around 11:30.
The strike between 7 and 8 May was called by the Trade Union Association of Intermediate Railway Managers (ASCEF), the Independent Trade Union Association of Commercial Railwaymen (ASSIFECO), the Federation of Transport and Communications Unions (FECTRANS), the National Union of Transport, Communications and Public Works (FENTCOP), the National Union of Railwaymen and Women (SINAFE), the National Democratic Railway Union (SINDEFER), the Independent Union of Infrastructure and Related Railway Workers (SINFA), the National Independent Union of Railway Workers (SINFB), the National Union of Transport and Industry Workers (SINTTI), the Independent Union of Railway and Related Operators (SIOFA), the National Union of Technical Staff (SNAQ), the National Union of Railway Workers (SNTSF), the Railway Transport Union (STF) and the Union of Metro and Railway Workers (STMEFE).
The Train Drivers' Union (SMAQ) called a strike between 7 and 8 May, and the Ticket Inspectors' Union (sfrci) called a strike between 7 and 14 May.
MPE/ADB // ADB.
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