TMB bus drivers call for seven more days of partial strikes

BarcelonaMore headaches for Barcelona's mobility. The bus drivers of Transports Metropolitans de Barcelona (TMB) announced this Friday that they will hold seven more days of partial strikes during the month of October after a pre-agreement with the company that was supposed to allow for the strike to be called off did not prosper this week. As decided by the staff assembly, the protests will take place on October 8, 14, 15, 20, 22, 27, and 29, in three two-hour shifts: from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m., and from 11 p.m. to 1 a.m.

The workers' assembly decided this Friday to maintain the strikes and continue pressuring the company to obtain improvements after rejecting the last proposal it received from management on Monday. As explained by the UGT in a statement, the unitary union platform presented a proposal on Monday that management accepted "practically in its entirety." That text provided for a progressive improvement of work schedules, the staggered application of the 35-hour workweek – with thirteen days of rest generated until 2029 – and the addition of about 200 people to the structural staff, as well as salary increases and a one-time bonus of about 650 euros if the agreement was closed before the end of the year.

According to the UGT's account, "at the last minute" one of the unions considered that the proposal "was not sufficient" and proposed "continuing" to negotiate to achieve further improvements. The rest of the forces accepted the proposal "always with the premise of maintaining union unity," with the commitment that it would be the assembly that made the final decision. Faced with this scenario, the company "decided to break off negotiations" and the Generalitat's mediator "understood that, under these conditions, an agreement could not be reached, given that the company stated it could not offer more".