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Tensions continue to run high between Spain's railway sector and the Ministry of Transport and if the final details of an agreement reached at the end of last year aren’t ironed out in the next few days, the unions have called for strikes across Renfe, Adif and Rodalies train services.

 

The first day of industrial action is scheduled for Friday February 9, when there will be a 23-hour strike that will affect the Cercanías Madrid service.

 

CCOO, the union that represents the majority of Renfe’s staff across the country, has explained that it has mobilised "because of the defenselessness in which we find ourselves in the face of the administrative hijacking of the agreements reached by the free will of the parties through collective bargaining in public railway companies."

 

One of the main grievances, according to the unions, is the failure of the Treasury to authorise the Collective Agreement six months after its negotiation. Additionally, the union is protesting the implementation of a 35-hour work week in Adif, which was agreed upon by the company and workers' legal representatives but was nullified by the Ministry of Transport and Sustainable Mobility.

 

Meanwhile, UGT, another union representing rail workers, has called for partial strikes of two hours every Monday in February. The union has also warned that stronger measures may be taken if an agreement is not reached.

 

In solidarity with the striking workers, CCOO and UGT of Catalonia have called on approximately 800 Rodalies workers to join the strike on February 16 and 19, from 7am to 9am and from 3pm until 5pm.

 

The unions have also proposed similar stoppages in commercial services of Renfe High Speed, Long Distance and International Trains.

 

The unions have attributed the strike to the lack of staff in various areas, including auditors on trains, staff in stations and management centres, which they claim has resulted in a decline in the quality of service provided to citizens.

 

 

Image: Renfe