Monday strike on road transport in the Community of Madrid. This October 28 begins with a general protest in road passenger transport, which affects interurban (green) services, as well as urban services such as those managed by the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) of Madrid.
The regional government has set minimum services ranging from 45% in off-peak hours and 80% in peak hours (from the beginning of service provision at 6:00 a.m. to 9:30 a.m.) for intercity buses and between 50 % and 75% for EMT buses in Madrid.
With regard to school transportation, since it is considered an essential service because it affects minors and their right to education must also be guaranteed, the establishment of minimum services of 60% has been planned. In the case of the transport of people with disabilities and reduced mobility, the minimum services will amount to 90%.
The unions in the road passenger transport sector have called for this protest to demand retirement due to dangerousness. It will be the first day of strikes that have more dates: in addition to Monday, October 28, the days of November 11, 28 and 29, as well as December 5 and 9, are also marked on the calendar as strikes. Starting December 23, if no agreement is reached, the strike will be indefinite.
This Monday, the drivers of urban buses, intercity buses and tow trucks will hold a rally at 12:30 p.m. at the Government Delegation in Madrid. Called at the national level, it demands the advancement of the retirement age and the recognition for legal purposes of the driver’s professional work as “painful.” The strike has been called by Workers’ Commissions (FSC-CCOO), State Federation of Services, Mobility and Consumption of the General Union of Workers Union (FESCM-UGT) and the Free Transport Union (SLT).
The Spanish Confederation of Bus Transport (Confebús) and the Association of Urban and Metropolitan Public Transport (ATUC) have regretted in a statement that it has not been possible to reach an agreement to avoid the strike. Both organizations have asked the unions to prepare a study before going to the Ministry to urge the start of the procedure to set the early retirement age for bus drivers.
“Without this study, the main associations in the passenger transport sector cannot make any decision in this regard, as they are unaware of the implications that a measure of this magnitude could entail,” they defend, in relation to the increase in business contributions that the early retirement.
These are the only two sectors (buses and cranes) in which it has not been possible to reach an agreement, after ambulance driving and freight sectors (mainly trucks) have called off after negotiating the request to the Government for the application of early retirement due to the danger of the sector.
However, the employers assure that they remain open to new conversations to try to unblock this situation. Union sources consulted by Europa Press point to November 6 for a new meeting between both parties, although only in the crane sector. For buses, there is still no set date.
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