It has become the never-ending conflict. The staff of the concessionaire of the urban bus service of the municipality of Murcia, better known as the coloraos, have announced the call for an indefinite strike starting next April 3, Holy Monday, approved in a workers’ assembly on the night of this Monday, as explained by the president of the company committee, Miguel Cano. The employees of Transportes de Murcia want to show, with this mobilization, their rejection of the company’s claim to lower their wages by up to 42% based on the termination of the agreement that is in process.
Cano denounces that, to this day, the staff continues without receiving the ‘extra’ pay for March -something that they consider a measure of pressure from the concessionaire so that the City Council speeds up the payments of the service settlements- and they do not know what It will happen with the payroll corresponding to this month. However, they acknowledge that the strike points directly to the threat of a sharp salary cut that hangs over them and that it is in the last stage of the process before its possible consummation: the arbitration phase.
The call will be maintained, thus, if a firm movement is not seen on the part of the Consistory in search of a certain economic rebalancing of the concession that allows withdrawing or reducing the aforementioned drop. «From the City Council it is usual to appeal that this is a conflict between a private company and its workers, but that is a half truth, since we provide a public service delegated by the Administration and, if this does not work, the main victims of the Unemployment will be the users -to a large extent, schoolchildren or secondary school students who go to class or people who go to medical consultations- and, therefore, the citizens, “adds Cano.
In fact, the president of the company committee points out that the workers’ representatives recently met with the mayor of Sustainable Mobility, Carmen Fructuoso, without any great progress being made, although it shows some hope, “since it seems that the City Council has Open to trying to find, this time, a solution with the Contracting service, but that must have some specificity for us to reconsider the mobilizations. In fact, it was almost a month and a half ago when the mayor, José Antonio Serrano, pointed to this possibility, which has not yet found a way to materialize.
“The call for a strike will imply, at least, mediation and that the parties sit down,” he explains, noting that “a legal strike, with its minimum regulated services, which we hope to be able to negotiate, charges us with reasons in the event that the pick up it comes to consummation.” In fact, the plans of the staff go through to star in a confinement in case this “wild” salary reduction is applied. “All this is causing us, in addition to economic, emotional damage: the company has not even wanted to give us explanations regarding the non-payment of the March payroll,” he concludes.
This is not precisely the first mobilization carried out in recent months by the concessionaire’s staff, which on various occasions -beginning at the beginning of December- has caused shipments to leave late and has even interrupted the service, irregularly, by doing so without prior communication or minimal services. LA VERDAD has tried to get in touch with those responsible for the service concessionary joint venture, headed by Grupo Ruiz, without success so far.
On previous occasions, the company has pointed out to this newspaper that the proposal to pick up is motivated by the economic situation alleged by the concessionaire, which claims not only to have endured huge uncompensated losses due to the pandemic, but also denounces that it is providing the service “at a loss, contrary to what is established by law”, after an extension of the concession with which he did not agree. In fact, it assures this, that conditions from ten years ago have been maintained that do not respond to the current economic framework.
“And it has been done, against our criteria, when there has been a sharp increase in costs, such as fuel, in our case gas,” explained the head of the company, Alberto Egido, denouncing that ” After months of questions, we were informed of the decision to extend the concession five hours after its completion”, with a significant operating deficit, as the concessionaire claims to have verified.
Gómez: “We seek solutions within the framework of the law”
For his part, the Councilor for Contracting, Mario Gómez, pointed out that his department is still searching for a solution that allows a rebalancing of the concession, but “always within the framework of the Public Sector Contracts Law and the specifications conditions”. «We are reviewing possible solutions that could have been adopted, along these lines, in other municipalities in Spain that have a similar legal framework; For this reason, the example that they usually give us, which is that of Mallorca, is not useful to us, since in the Balearic Islands public transport is of autonomous competence and the Community has legislative competence, ”defends the mayor.
The objective is to find a formula that makes it possible to compensate for the losses due to the capacity restrictions of the pandemic and the sharp increase in fuel that the war in Ukraine has brought, “although not totally, minimizing the damage and preventing the proposed pick-up from reaching those maximums of 42%,” Gómez said. However, he stressed that the entry of some 110,000 euros has been approved, far from what was requested by the company, to reduce the losses caused by the anti-covid sanitary measures.
“We have never abandoned contact with the company, because, it must be recognized, that although a downward offer could be presented one day and it has historically complained of an operating deficit, it has always complied with its obligation,” the councilor assessed. , hoping that the strike can be avoided, both for the good of the workers and for that of the users. He stressed, however, that if the stoppage is consummated, “the minimum services must be met, since, if not, it would be appropriate to impose sanctions on the concessionaire, which would further complicate the situation.”
#staff #coloraos #buses #Murcia #announce #indefinite #strike #starting #Holy #Monday