“The strike will take place on the 26th, Sunday, between 00:00 and 24:00, but the disturbances in the service should start on Saturday”, said Sara Gligo, from Fectrans. The company did not disclose, until this morning, information about changes to the service.
Sara Gligo said that the workers decided to maintain the stoppage, scheduled a few weeks ago, despite the announcement by Metropolitano de Lisboa that it has already started hiring train drivers and strengthening maintenance teams.
The hiring results from an authorization granted by the Government, within the scope of the Activities and Budget Plan for 2022, for the hiring of 58 workers: 34 traffic agents, 13 maintenance officers, two construction inspectors and nine specialized technicians.
“Hiring workers alone does not solve all problems. In parallel with this negotiation process, the collective negotiation process for this year takes place, in which the company, to reduce the conflict, presented another year of validity of the Company Agreement”, said the unionist.
Another issue that union organizations do not agree with is the 0.9% salary increase proposed by the company, which they consider to be “far below the country’s inflation”.
However, Sara Gligo stressed that the workers “remain, as always, available to dialogue and solve problems”.
In addition to the 24-hour strike, workers are carrying out a strike for overtime and special events until the end of this month.
Last week, Metropolitano de Lisboa assured that it is available to seek “joint solutions to improve working conditions and remuneration” and also to “increase the number of staff”.
In a statement, the administration explained that it has “actively sought solutions”, called for “the consideration of the proposals made” and maintained “the availability to build a solution that serves both parties”.
The company said that from March to May 2022, workers in the area of the operation, machinists and managers carried out a total of eight partial strikes, between 5:00 am and 9:00 am.
In addition to these strikes, in May and June, strike notices were given for overtime work and special events, the company also recalled, regretting “the inconvenience and inconvenience that these strikes cause to citizens in the city of Lisbon and neighboring municipalities. ”.
The stoppage next Sunday, the 26th, takes place on a weekend when the Rock in Rio festival takes place, in Parque da Bela Vista.
Metropolitano de Lisboa operates daily with four lines: Yellow (Rato-Odivelas), Green (Telheiras-Cais do Sodré), Blue (Reboleira-Santa Apolónia) and Red (Airport-São Sebastião).
Normally, the metro runs between 06:30 and 01:00.
