The State is negotiating with the unions to ensure that the new commuter rail operator will be dependent on Renfe to avoid a strike.
Unions point out that the leaks are biased and that Monday's work stoppage remains in place.
BarcelonaNegotiations are intensifying in Madrid in the hours leading up to the Renfe train drivers' strike, which is scheduled to begin on Monday, with a 24-hour walkout by train drivers. The Spanish government is reportedly negotiating with unions about the possibility of the new commuter rail operator that will manage the service once the transfer is completed "being located within the Renfe group for all purposes." This is evident from the leaked draft agreement between the Ministry of Transport and the Renfe and Adif unions, which ACN reported and which ARA has also had access to. The document—which bears the name of the Ministry of Transport but no seal or signature—also proposes that Adif maintain "comprehensive management" of the R1 line, between La Sagrera and Maçanet-Massanes, once the transfer of ownership of this line takes place.
After this leak came to light, unions have expressed their outrage, asserting that the information is "self-serving" and that the strike is still ongoing. "We deny any agreement," said the majority union of train drivers, Semaf. "We give no credence to the anonymously circulating reports that appear intended to provoke disaffection among railway workers determined to support the strike in defense of the rights they want to take from us," they stated in a statement.
For its part, the Ministry of Transport agrees that the document is "apocryphal" and that there is "nothing certain" at the moment. "We are still in negotiations," ministry spokespersons told this newspaper.
The unions CCOO, UGT, CGT, the Intersindical Confederation-SF and Semaf have called for several days of total and partial strikes for March 17, 19, 24, 26 and 28 and April 1 and 3 To denounce, they say, the breaches of the agreements signed in 2023 regarding the transfer of Cercanías and the "privatization" of freight transport.
Negotiations all Friday
The strike officially begins on Monday, but since Thursday, the ministry and worker representatives have been trying to negotiate an agreement to avoid strikes that could collapse the rail system throughout Spain. The draft document—which is therefore subject to changes—proposes that the new trading company be organically dependent on Renfe "with respect for and guarantee of labor rights" but that its headquarters be in Catalonia.
The document also includes one of the elements already included in the agreement between the PSC and ERC: that the new company have a board of directors made up of members of the Spanish government and the Generalitat (Catalan government). Specifically, it mentions nine members: four proposed by Renfe Viajeros, four proposed by the Generalitat (Catalan government), and a chairman with a casting vote, also proposed by the Catalan government.
Regarding the transfer of track ownership, the agreement states that Adif will continue to maintain "comprehensive management" of line R1 between La Sagrera and Maçanet-Massanes and that the transfer "will not affect the social and labor rights of the employees" of this public company.
Negotiations are expected to last all day in Madrid. In a press conference this Friday morning, the Regional Minister for Territory, Silvia Paneque, stated that they are still working to call off the strike. "We would all like to be able to provide sufficient guarantees to the unions to call off the strike, but in any case, we are working; we still have days ahead of us," she noted. Paneque insisted that the transfer of Cercanías "does not affect" either the economic or social and labor rights of the Renfe and Adif employees. Territori has not provided any further details regarding the draft agreement that has emerged in recent hours.
Political reactions
In any case, the possibility that the new operator that will manage the Cercanías (commuter rail) in Catalonia will end up being organically dependent on Renfe (which already had a 50% share) has already sparked a reaction from some political parties. Junts spokesperson in the Senate, Eduard Pujol, called the state's offer "absurd."
"Anything that involves Renfe is a bad solution. This is the result of the failure to transfer power between ERC and Isla's PSOE. The solution is transfer and the Catalan Government's Railways. When ERC negotiates, it's Robert's business and the goats, and the PSC, surrendering, applauds," Pujol said via his social media account.