Train conductors reject any political motive behind strike

The National Union of Portuguese Railway Conductors (SMAQ) rejected claims on Thursday that the strike at CP is politically motivated and blamed the government for the disruption caused to the public for failing to comply with a negotiated agreement.

“This strike is not political, it is a strike by workers demanding compliance with a fair and negotiated agreement”, said the SMAQ in a statement, adding that “it is not, and never has been, associated with any political party, and all its actions are exclusively guided by the defence of the interests of train conductors and other railway workers”.

Participation in the second day of the CP – Comboios de Portugal workers’ strike was again 100% this morning, with all traffic at a standstill, a union source told Lusa.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the minister of infrastructure and housing, Miguel Pinto Luz, accused the unions of calling the strike for political reasons, given the approaching snap legislative elections on 18 May.

On Thursday, PSD president Luís Montenegro also said that “political, partisan and electoral influences” prevented the CP strike and that a law change to balance the right to strike with other rights may be necessary.

“The government’s attempt to link this struggle to electoral motives is absurd”, said the SMAQ, noting that the strike “was a direct consequence of the refusal of the government and CP management to apply, within the agreed deadlines, the wage and professional clauses defined between the unions and the company”, i.e., “if the strike is happening now, it is because the breach has happened now”.

The union “deeply regretted” the inconvenience caused to the population, but attributed all responsibility to the government, “which pushed workers into this strike by refusing to comply with what was negotiated”.

According to the SMAQ, the amounts provided for in the agreement that the government claims it cannot apply because it is a caretaker government at this stage, “are duly budgeted”. Thus, the government’s argument for the union structure is refuted “insofar as it continues to perform its functions in full, without any legal limitation, issuing resolutions”, among other measures.

The government presented to the unions on Monday evening a proposal authorising CP to implement part of the agreement, corresponding to €5.7 million. The SMAQ clarified that “two million has already been used for the salary increases imposed by the Government, “resulting in increases of €34, below the €56.50 allocated as the minimum threshold for the public administration in general.

“This difference represents unacceptable discrimination against CP workers at a time when the Government claims to be “a caretaker government” but retains the ability to intervene selectively”, the workers’ representatives pointed out.

As for the remaining €3 million, which, according to the union, the Government put “on the table” while the strike was already underway, the SMAQ did the math: “divided among the approximately 4,000 CP workers and the proposed 14-month duration, this translates into an increase of only €1.78 per day for each worker”, it explained, considering this proposal “obviously unacceptable”.

Therefore, the SMAQ demanded compliance with the agreement reached on 24 April between CP management and the unions, considering that “the government cannot take credit for the negotiation and then shirk its responsibilities in implementing it”.

The strike, which began on Wednesday and will continue until 14 May, was called against the imposition of wage increases “that do not restore purchasing power”, for “collective bargaining for decent wage increases” and for “the implementation of the agreement to restructure wage scales, under the terms negotiated and agreed”, according to the unions.

The strike will have a particular impact on the first two days due to the larger number of unions (14) that have joined it on those days.

The Arbitration Court decided that the strikes will not have minimum services.