The suburban train strike was called off in extremis.

BarcelonaAlmost at the last minute, the majority unions of Renfe and Adif reached an agreement with the Spanish and Catalan governments on Sunday night that allows for the cancellation of the strike scheduled for tomorrow, Monday, on the commuter rail service. In a joint statement signed by the Ministry of Transport and the Regional Ministry of Territories, they indicated that the agreement will allow "the planned rail services to be provided almost completely normally," although incidents early in the morning are not ruled out. On the one hand, because there may not have been enough time to assign services to all drivers; and, on the other, because the minority CGT and Confederación Intersindical-SF have disassociated themselves from the agreement.

The agreement between the parties calms the feelings of the drivers, who were highly critical of the announcement of the transfer of the commuter rail service to the Generalitat (Catalan government). In fact, as a result of this pressure, when the transfer of the first line—the R1—is formalized, the new management company—Rodalies Catalunya SA—will continue, for the time being, under the umbrella of the Renfe Group as another subsidiary for an unspecified period. This company will be jointly managed by the Catalan government and the operator Renfe. Furthermore, the state-owned company will hold the majority stake in the new company, while the Catalan government will control the board of directors and, in practice, its management: it will hold the presidency and the casting vote, as announced by the Secretary of State for Transport, José Antonio Santano, after announcing the cancellation of the strikes.

Guaranteed labor rights

The agreement, to which ARA has had access, specifies that the new subsidiary "will be part of the Renfe Group with respect and guarantee of labor rights, including the application of the Group's collective bargaining agreement," as well as other current labor agreements. Thus, workers will not be affected by aspects they considered key, such as seniority or mobility between destinations. Point 4 of the text makes it clear that Adif and Renfe workers have the right "to voluntarily decide to remain" in these two state-owned public companies.

From now on, and with this agreement, the schedules will have to be fine-tuned. The shared management period—which must also be defined in the future—will ensure that the new resulting company does not encounter difficulties when processing the relevant safety licenses required by the European Union. Furthermore, the initial co-management with the State would allow the Generalitat (Catalan government) to avoid having to assume Renfe's debt in Catalonia.

After a weekend of meetings to try to resolve the conflict, Santano thanked the workers' representatives at the end of the meeting for their attitude in remaining at the table. "This also reflects a style and an attitude, and a way of doing things," said the ministerial official, who in statements to RTVE's 24-hour channel stressed that the ministry and the government have "worked hand in hand" in the negotiations, reports Efe.

For its part, Esquerra Republicana, which agreed to the transfer of Cercanías in exchange for support for Pedro Sánchez's investiture, stated that co-management does not mean "renouncing" the agreement with the PSOE and frames it as a bridge to achieving an autonomous company. "We understand that the affiliation of the new company between the Generalitat and the State to the Renfe Group is an option that allows for the pacification of relations with the unions, while also presenting a series of operational advantages and accelerating the launch process of the new company," affirms Oriol Junqueras's party. The Republicans give "two years" to find "the appropriate mechanisms to guarantee all labor rights for workers that should allow the new company to become affiliated with the Generalitat de Catalunya."