Metropolitan Lisbon says it is available for dialogue with trade unions

O Metropolitan Lisbon today welcomed the deconvocation of partial strikes on Wednesday and Friday, stressing that it remains available to maintain “a constructive and good-faith dialogue” with trade unions.

“ The Management Board welcomes this decision and reaffirms its readiness to maintain a constructive and good faith dialogue with trade union organisations for the sake of security, quality and sustainability of the public service”, reads in a company note.

At the end of this afternoon, the trade unions decided to dismiss the partial strikes of Wednesday and Friday between 05:00 and 10:00 at the Lisbon Metropolitan, claiming that the minimum services decreed by the Arbitral Court call into question the safety of users and workers.

Thus, indicates the Metropolitano, “the operation of the Lisbon metro network will begin at 06:30, in the usual manner, with the circulation of trains and the operation of all stations under normal conditions”.

In the note, the company also reaffirms the “daily commitment to mobility and the provision of public transport service in the city of Lisbon” and “thanks the understanding of its passengers”.

In statements to Lusa at the end of the afternoon, trade union leader Sara Gligó said that the Arbitral Court decided to set minimum services, to circulate compositions, and in the manner in which “the company actually requested”.

“ We believe that this decision contradicts existing case-law, calls into question the safety of users and workers themselves to operate under conditions that have been decreed, including this judgment allows the replacement of workers on strike by workers who are not qualified for these functions,” said the leader of the Federation of Transport and Communications Unions (Fectrans) and the STRUP – Union of Road and Urban Transport Workers of Portugal.

In this sense, Sara Gligó said that the trade union organizations will “now gather the workers in plenary” to determine the next actions.

“ We obviously devoked this strike, but we did not convoke the struggle and therefore we will go with the workers to find new forms of struggle”, he said.

The Arbitral Court had defined minimum services for the partial strikes of Wednesday and Friday, between 05:00 and 10:00, with the opening of 26 stations “from 07:00”, on the Blue, Yellow, Green and Red lines, while the rest would remain “closed to the public until 10:00”.

The strike, according to Sara Gligó, leader of Fectrans and the STRUP, was the result of persistent problems at the Central Command Post and the Traction Posts, namely the lack of workers, excessive use of additional work, prolonged shifts, delays in the training of officials and inspectors and the emptying of the duties of the heads.

The Lisbon Metropolitan operates daily with four lines: Yellow (Rato-Odivelas), Green (Calheiras do Sodré), Blue (Reboleira-Santa Apolónia) and Red (Aeroporto-São Sebastião). Under normal operating conditions, the metro operates between 06:30 and 01:00.