Costa News Spain Breaking News | English News in Spain.
The planned nationwide rail strike, which was set to cause disruption throughout Spain, has been cancelled at the last minute.
A deal between the Ministry of Transport and railway unions was finalised just four hours before the first strike was due to begin at midnight of Sunday – Monday this week.
A strike of seven days that would have affected a quarter out of 4,260 trains on schedule during the initial five days has been avoided.
It would have affected 955 long-distance medium trains, 428 high speed and long distance services, and 740 Freight services.
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Two major concerns centered the threat of industrial action.
The first comes from Catalunya where workers were concerned about their employment rights and job security when Renfe, the national operator, planned to transfer the control of Barcelona commuter trains (Rodalies), from Renfe’s hands to the Catalan Regional Government.
Rail staff also protested against what they perceived as steps towards privatising parts Spain’s rail freight services. They were particularly concerned about the logistics company MSC’s acquisition of a stake in Renfe’s freight operations.
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The Catalan Regional Government will have more control over the local train service under the new agreement but not as much as initially planned.
Renfe, the national railway company, will retain majority ownership. This ensures that workers can continue to enjoy their current employment rights.
Transport Minister Oscar Puente congratulated the negotiating teams for their work and ‘good willingness to reach an agreement’ shortly after the announcement.
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The CGT refused to sign, and expressed its disapproval on social media, saying: “We won’t sell ourselves!”
But with most of the other major unions on board – including Semaf, CCOO, UGT, SF-I and SCF – the planned disruption has been averted.
