Lisbon metro workers on strike Friday from 5am-9am
The strike will take place on Friday and on March 18 between 5 am and 9 pm, with the transport service expected to start from 9h30 am, the company said in a statement.
Lisbon Metro (ML) workers will carry out a partial strike on Friday between 5 am and 9 pm, and according to the company and unions, transport service constraints are expected during that period.
The strike will take place on Friday and on March 18 between 5 am and 9 pm, with the transport service expected to start from 9h30 am, the company said in a statement.
In the note, ML “thanks to its customers for their understanding and regrets any inconvenience that these strikes may cause”.
Lisbon Metro workers presented a strike pre-notice on February 23, in light of the management’s downplaying of employee problems.
“[The strike notice] has to do with working conditions, the lack of staff and the attitude of the management towards workers, which disturbs the smooth running,” Anabela Carvalheira, of the Federation of Transport and Communications Unions (FECTRANS) told Lusa news agency at the time.
According to Anabela Carvalheira, the trade unions want the company “to put into practice a series of commitments made to workers a long time ago”.
The union member believes that the management should take into account the problems that exist, for example, in the area of train drivers, who due to their condition of working underground “should have a calmer life”.
According to FECTRANS, the notice respects the decisions of the plenary, and therefore covers all the managers of the Operations Department, as well as the drivers.
In January, metro train drivers and inspectors sent a letter to the board of directors of the company with the demands of the workers, not ruling out new forms of struggle, such as a strike, if their demands were not met.
At the time, they gave the company eight days to respond to the workers’ concerns and to come up with solutions. There are around 300 people in the group of train drivers, foremen and track inspectors.
Metropolitano de Lisboa operates with four lines: Yellow (Rato-Odivelas), Green (Telheiras-Cais do Sodré), Blue (Reboleira-Santa Apolónia) and Red (Airport-São Sebastião), from 6h30 am to 1 pm every day.
