The Ministry of Transport and the union representatives of the workers of Renfe, Adif and the Semaf machinists have not reached an agreement to suspend the strike scheduled for February 9, 10 and 11 after the high-speed accidents in Adamuz (Córdoba) and Rodalies in Gelida (Barcelona).
However, despite the fact that there is no agreement, the negotiations are not concluded and they will meet again tomorrow, Thursday.
Minister Óscar Puente was present at the meeting; the Secretary of State, José Antonio Santano, electronically; the president of Adif, Pedro Marco; the president of Renfe, Álvaro Fernández Heredia; the director of Human Resources of Renfe, Lucas Calzado; and the Secretary General of Land Transportation. Rocío Báguena. And, on the part of the unions, representatives of CCOO, UGT and the machinists’ union Semaf.
“We have made a statement of the demands, of the analysis that we do of the situation,” explains Pepa Páez, head of the CCOO Railway Sector. “Measures must be taken against things that until now have been normalized, such as delays, incidents or cancellations.” Páez also points out that “the state of the infrastructure is not the most optimal, although we defend that it is safe.” “We have stated that we need more staff at Adif to do maintenance from within and, in the case of Renfe, increase the staff on board the trains, the auditors; and in workshops to be able to internalize the maintenance of our trains.”
“Good” predisposition, but no answers
The CCOO representative has also called for the implementation of protocols for adverse weather situations, such as the current one. Transport, Páez has pointed out, has planned to give a “response” to these requests tomorrow. “The predisposition is good, but we still do not have solutions to our problems, which is why the strike call remains in place.”
Meanwhile, the train drivers union Semaf points out that it was “a first meeting, in which the problems related to the safety and quality of the railway system have been generally addressed,” says its spokesperson Teo Moreno. “The demands of the train drivers group regarding the need for structural change” have also been indicated. “However, it has been a preliminary meeting. We consider that there is still a long way to go and that the positions are distant. Likewise, we will attend all the meetings to which we are summoned with the best will, but with the greatest demands,” he adds.
For their part, sources from the Ministry of Transport assure that “the meeting took place in a positive tone and with the desire to maintain dialogue in the coming days in order to reach an agreement that addresses the demands of the group, as the unions have specified in their statements that we fully subscribe to.” “Both parties, in any case, have agreed to continue with the talks and have reconvened tomorrow for a meeting in which, as happened today, Minister Puente will also participate,” they add.
This Tuesday, the workers demonstrated before the ministry to demand improvements in investment and railway safety. After these protests, Minister Óscar Puente assured, during his appearance in the Congress of Deputies, that he would meet with the unions in response to the strikes to “find a solution that we can share.” “We are going to try to avoid the strike, for me and the Ministry it will not happen.”
Source: www.eldiario.es
