To the 10th partial strike of the Lisbon Metro, Minister Duarte Cordeiro, who is in charge of the company, promised operational and hiring measures to solve the issues raised by the unions. The expectation is that the strikes called for June may be called off.
Machinists and other workers in the operational division of the Lisbon Metro held their 10th partial strike since the beginning of the year last Friday. As a result of the stoppage, the Metro only opened again at 9.30 a.m., on a day when the four unions representing the workers met with the Minister for the Environment, Duarte Cordeiro, and the Board of Directors of Metro de Lisboa.
Speaking to journalists after the meeting, Anabela Carvalheira, from the Federation of Transport and Communications Trade Unions (FECTRANS), said that in that "business meeting" looked for "we have seen some commitments from the government, but there is still no definitive answer". On the company's management side, a promise was made to present "a proposal for a timetable that will reduce supply and ease the burden on operational workers"but for FECTRANS "is insufficient". "It was also decided to look into some answers that were still pending and that would be given during the next week"she added, quoted by the Lusa news agency.
Metro management promises to reduce supply as long as there are no more workers
As a federation, FECTRANS represents several unions. The following were present at the meeting: STTM - Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da Tracção do Metropolitano de Lisboa; SINDEM - Sindicato Independente de Todos os Trabalhadores do Metropolitano de Lisboa; and STMetro - Sindicato dos Trabalhadores do Metropolitano de Lisboa.
For Anabela Carvalheira, the reduction in the service promised by the Metro de Lisboa management will be taken by the company as long as there is no increase in the number of operatorswhich, according to the trade unionist, is the origin of the "main problems that exist" in the company. "We left comfortable because, for the first time, the Chairman of the Board of Directors assumed, in front of the Minister, that without eggs you can't make omelettes and that without workers we can't have the metro running"she said, quoted by Lusa.
Strikes scheduled for June
The unions representing Lisbon Metro workers had already submitted a strike notice for June for overtime work and special events, which puts at risk the usual extension of service hours during Santos Populares or Rock In Rio. On the night of Santo António, from June 12 to 13, it has become customary for the Green and Blue Lines to operate throughout the night. Also for the Rock In Rio festival, the Lisbon Metro has been offering a night service until 3 or 4 in the morning in recent years.
If the strikes continue, there will be no Metro after 1am - the usual time. However, only a strike notice has been handed in, so the protest action may not take place. Everything now depends on the workers and the unions. "We'll talk to the workers and decide among ourselves"said Anabela Carvalheira.
Minister attentive to solving problems and calling off strikes
On a visit to the Lisbon Metro expansion works on Saturday morning, the Minister for the Environment and Climate Action, Duarte Cordeiro, said that "there is awareness that measures need to be taken, some of an operational nature, to improve working conditions" and other measures to strengthen the Lisbon Metro workforce.
The minister in charge of the Lisbon Metro has guaranteed that there are "need to reinforce workforce, especially train drivers"and that This lack is reflected in "about 30 workers who will become train drivers in the future, because at the beginning [when they join the company] they don't go into that role". For this reason, Duarte Cordeio said they were studying "internal tenders that can be made immediately within the Lisbon Metro" and allow "the necessary internal progression for train drivers".
"We're working on it and we hope to have an answer very soon" e "to be able to call off the overtime strikes"also allowing "minimize the impact on people's lives and continue what we want, which is to recover passengers to pre-pandemic levels and meet the expectations generated by the Metro expansion work". The Minister for the Environment and Climate Action has no doubt that "we need to guarantee this reinforcement to guarantee the supply we have today but also to increase the supply that results from the expansion of the Metro, both the Circular Line and the Red Line, as well as what will become the light rail in Loures and Odivelas".
"It's work that we'll continue to do this week and we believe that, with a bit of balance on both sides, we can get there." Lisbon Metro workers have held 10 partial stoppages since the beginning of the year and this was the first time that the Minister responsible commented on the situation and promised concrete resolutions.
With regard to operational measures, Duarte Cordeiro mentioned the adjustment of train timetables to better match supply to the current number of operational staff. "We hope that this will also unblock the overtime strike. Let's see what the workers also think."
