The Spanish Railway Drivers’ Union (Semaf) has decided to postpone the strike called for this Thursday, 12 November, and move it to Monday, 23 November, after the Council of Ministers approved this Tuesday the Royal Decree-law on urgent measures to strengthen safety and social protection in the railway sector following the accident in Urda (Toledo).
The new regulation consolidates driving time limits to prevent fatigue, intensifies inspections by the State Railway Safety Agency (AESF), includes the "Just Culture to the Law on the Railway Sector," and expands the reduction coefficients to all operating companies.
In the statement issued by the organization, it is stated that the union seeks to open a "strict window for negotiations" with the aim that, during the next week, the Government can approve and publish in the BOE the remaining safety commitments that are still pending.
Despite this postponement, Semaf maintains "intact" union pressure and keeps the strike calls for Tuesday, 17 November, for the entire sector, as well as that of 23 November itself. The union emphasizes that the driving workforce "no longer finds promises or documents of intent useful," but rather the existence of effective rules, approved and in force.
"As long as all the measures agreed upon are not published, labor unrest will continue in the railway sector," Semaf has said, warning that protests will not be called off while all the commitments assumed in safety matters are not carried out.