Ferrocarrils faces the first day of the strike called by the Semaf train drivers
The operator assures that the minimum service requirements of 50% of trains during peak hours are being met.
BarcelonaNine Tuesdays of difficulties in rail mobility, this time also affecting Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat de Catalunya (FGC). The Catalan train operator faces the first of the five days of strikewhich has called on the Semaf union to strike on February 24th and 25th and March 2nd, 3rd, and 4th to demand greater safety on the service.
For this Tuesday, the Department of Business and Labor has set minimum services of 50% during peak hours and 25% during other periods. For next week, minimum services will rise to 66% and 33%, respectively, due to the protest coinciding with the Mobile World Congress, which is expected to increase the number of passengers.
For now, the Catalan operator assures that the minimum services are being met as planned. After peak hours, the company released the first official figures on participation. FGC reports that the strike is being supported by 8.74% of its staff and that, at the same time, the strike announcement has reduced demand by an average of 9.2% compared to a normal day.
On the busiest lines, Barcelona-Vallès and Llobregat-Anoia, ridership on Tuesday was 8.7% and 10.5% lower, respectively, than on a typical weekday. No significant incidents related to the protest were reported during the morning.
The Government, surprised
Aside from network security – which the company claims to scrupulously comply with European regulations – the workers are also demanding a series of improvements in working conditions. The CCOO union decided to join the strikes, but only those for next week. The UGT union, however, has ruled out joining. For its part, FGC views the strike with "surprise," considering it "contrived." The spokesperson for the Balearic Government and Minister of Territory, Silvia Paneque, described it as "surprising" on Tuesday that FGC had not raised the issue of security problems before the strike was called by the Semaf union. "What is surprising is that this was an issue that had not been raised beforehand in the works council," she stated. In this regard, Paneque emphasized that "there is no indication" that could "justify" this appeal to security.