According to a statement sent by the company to Lusa, CP blocked 141 trains out of 253 scheduled from 00:00 to 08:00 this Friday due to a 24-hour strike by the carrier’s drivers.
CP drivers have launched a new 24-hour strike starting at midnight, with the introduction of minimum services, announced by the National Union of Portuguese Railway Drivers (SMAQ) in defiance of the latest offer of a €51 wage increase.
The company foresees a “high impact” on traffic this Friday and minor disturbances in the remaining days until the 18th, when train drivers will not perform services that last more than seven and a half hours.
According to the balance sheet made this Friday morning in Lusa, out of 253 trains scheduled from 00:00 to 08:00, 112 departed and 141 canceled (55.7%).
CP – Comboios de Portugal indicates that 66 regional trains were planned, but 34 connections were not made, although 32 were made.
In terms of urban areas, 115 were planned in Lisbon, 76 suppressed and 39 implemented.
According to the company, in the city of Porto, 52 were planned for this period, 31 were carried out and 21 were suppressed.
Eight were planned in the city trains of Coimbra, four were canceled, the same number were carried out.
As for long-distance trains, 12 were planned, six were canceled and six were also implemented.
The arbitral tribunal ruled that the minimum service at the national level is about 30%, as well as what is necessary for the safety and maintenance of equipment and installations, as well as emergency services and rescue trains.
The strike was called in protest against the company’s latest offer of a €51 wage increase, representing an average career advancement of 3.89% and which the trade union structure considers “clearly unacceptable”.
Thus, from 00:00 to 23:59 this Friday, the workers declare “a strike for the provision of any and all work by workers in the categories represented by the SMAQ (effective from the last hours of Thursday and the first hours of Saturday)”.
In addition, from Saturday 00:00 to 23:59 on the 17th, “the strike is declared during all normal daily working periods, the expected duration of which exceeds seven hours and 30 minutes, for categories of drivers or technical drivers. “.
From Saturday 00:00 to 17:59 23:59 they hold a “work strike during all normal hours of daily work involving entry and/or exit from headquarters from 00:00 to 06:00, for train drivers or train drivers” category “Chief Traction Inspector”.
In February, strikes organized by several Communist Party unions led to the suppression of hundreds of convoys a day.
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
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