The strike by Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) workers today led to the suppression of 140 trains out of 252 scheduled (55,6%) by CP, between 00:00 and 08:00, according to data from the carrier.
Workers at Infraestruturas de Portugal (IP) are carrying out the first of two strikes in between today, with minimum services having been decreed.
In Lisbon's urban connections, 113 of the 73 planned were removed, and in long-distance connections, 13 were scheduled and eight were removed.
In a note sent to Lusa about the impacts of this strike on CP, the company states that of the 252 trains scheduled, 112 took place.
Speaking to Lusa this morning, Adriano Filipe, president of Aprofer – Association of Railway Command and Control Professionals, said that at 08:00 the minimum services were being fulfilled.
The strike, which covers IP operation, command, control, information, circulation management and railway maintenance workers, is related to the working conditions and salaries of the profession, as Adriano Filipe explained to Lusa.
“The reasons for this strike are the same” as the strike that had been called for September 2022, he recalled, indicating that IP had committed to negotiating an agreement, but this has not happened since then.
“The agreement would be to close the negotiations and commitment to social peace by December 31, 2023, but given IP's failure to comply, we decided to declare a strike from the beginning of January and it will be a strike that, until there is an agreement or a change of position, will continue”, he stated.
These workers, distributed essentially across operational command centers (CCO), which control the entire railway operation at national level, demand the regularization of their profession.
“For 17 years, new jobs have needed regularization of operation and, therefore, we still work along the lines of the old CP”, he indicated, highlighting that the work is “in a highly technological position, which concentrates the entire circulation and maintenance of the entire country".
“What we are asking for is a difference in remuneration in relation to what is paid at the stations”, he indicated, highlighting that these approximately 300 workers have “the same salary scale as the station workers”.
“But the worker is at a station and has a very local responsibility. We have a national responsibility”, he pointed out, indicating that “the degree of concentration” is very high, with workers having to manage maneuvers, circulation, accidents, breakdowns, among other tasks.
The strike could also affect train circulation on Wednesday and Friday, CP explained in a note published on the website.
On strike days, minimum services are guaranteed, with Alfa Pendular and Intercidades, Regional, InterRegional and International, Porto Urban Trains, Coimbra Urban Trains and Lisbon Urban Trains expected to circulate.
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