The strike called for September 18 at Carris in Lisbon will only involve minimum services in the exclusive transport of disabled people and in the operation of emergency services and medical posts, according to the decision of the arbitration court released on Monday.
The arbitration court, created within the Economic and Social Council, unanimously decided to define as minimum services for the strike called by the Federation of Transport and Communications Trade Unions (Fectrans) in Carris the operation of “exclusive transport for disabled people”, “from the cable car”, “from the emergency room” and “from medical posts”.
“The striking workers guarantee the services necessary for the safety and maintenance of the equipment and facilities, as well as the emergency services that, in the event of force majeure, require the use of the means made available by Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa,” the ruling reads.
Fectrans must “identify workers obliged to perform minimum services up to 24 hours before the start of the strike” and, “if he does not do so, this option must be exercised by Carris,” the court determined.
The strike notice was filed by the trade unions working with CGTP-In from 10pm on 17 September until midnight on 19 September at the Lisbon public transport operator.
“The company’s proposal was to have 26 percent of buses circulating, but the decision was not in that direction, it was in response to the proposal we made, to reduce to a minimum the transport of disabled people, the cable car, the emergency service, rescue services and medical posts,” Manuel Leal, one of the representatives of Fectrans at the court hearing, told Lusa.
The leader of the Union of Road and Urban Transport Workers of Portugal (STRUP), affiliated to Fectrans, expects “a great participation”although a new meeting with the Carris board of directors is scheduled for Tuesday “to try to create the necessary opening that could lead to a possible cancellation” of the strike.
“The truth is that we are not going to the meeting with many expectations in this regard, the board of directors was left giving answers to this question, but we will soon see if there are conditions for a suspension,” admitted Manuel Leal, adding that the strike will only be called off in the event of “a positive response to the central issues on the table, the increase in wages, the evolution to 35 hours and the food subsidy.”
The legal basis for the decision states that urban road transport activity has obvious implications for the satisfaction of “essential social needs”, but the definition of minimum services “must be as limited as possible” and when there are no other alternatives or it is “excessively expensive”.
Recognizing that another arbitration tribunal had decided not to set minimum services in relation to bus routes, for the same strike, even departing from the jurisprudence of previous rulings, the tribunal assumed that a different decision did not make sense “in relation to another union structure”.
Therefore, it only decreed minimum services for the transport of disabled people and emergency assistance vehicles, including electric cars.
The strike called by Fectrans and STRUP, which demands a salary increase of 100 euros and 15 euros in allowances, is not followed by other Carris union structures.
The National Union of Drivers and Other Workers (SNMOT), Sitra – Transport Workers Union and Sitese – Service Sector Workers Union signed an agreement in which they accept a 60 euro increase in the salary scale, plus “around 13 euros per month” for food allowance, said Manuel Oliveira, vice president of SNMOT.
In a statement, STRUP regretted that the Carris board of directors had not accepted the demands and considered unacceptable, “by express will of the organizations” that signed the revision of the company agreement, “the implementation of any discrimination of rights, among workers.”
Source: Observadora
