The Arbitration Court has ordered a minimum service fee of 20% for the CP – Comboios de Portugal strike, called by several unions, from 00:00 to 24:00 on 22 and 24 July.
According to information published on CP’s website, a minimum service volume has been set for city and regional trains, which does not cover others, and the company has warned passengers of the possibility of service disruptions.
According to the same information, minimum transport volumes have been established for regional and interregional services (Minho, Douro, East, West, Beira Baixa and North lines – in the last case to Coimbra/Entroncamento and back), as well as for urban trains (Azambuja, Coimbra and Guimarães lines).
The strike has been called by the unions ASCEF, ASSIFECO, FENTCOP, SINAFE, SINDEFER, SINFA, SINFB, SIOFA, SNAQ, SNTSF, STF and STMEFE and is expected to affect circulation during the strike days.
On its website, CP says that customers who already have purchased tickets for travel on Alfa Pendular, Intercidades, International, Interregional and Regional trains can request “a refund equal to the total cost of the purchased ticket or its free exchange for another train of the same category and class.”
Refunds or exchanges can be made on the CP website or at the ticket office no later than 15 minutes before departure. They may also ask for a refund within 10 days of the strike.
The strike was announced earlier this month in a note from the Federation of Transport and Communications Unions (Fectrans).
These workers were already on strike on June 28.
It is “unacceptable” for the trade unions that the Communist Party administration, which has guaranteed that the agreement concluded with the trade union organization will be extended to all workers, wants to make this a condition for the adoption of the proposed career regulations.
The government, the Communist Party and the National Union of Portuguese Railway Engineers (SMAQ), which had been on strike from June 27 to July 14 and has since been suspended, recently reached an agreement. The operator also reached an agreement with the Union of Commercial Railroads (SFRCI) on a career review, including a 1.5% pay rise and an increase in food allowance to €9.20.
Fectrans said the proposal “increases the versatility of functions and does not take into account salary scales”, which it said was a “strategic measure” to recruit new workers and retain current ones.