The Spanish Union of Train Drivers and Railway Assistants (Semaf) has announced a 24-hour strike for the upcoming October 29 across all companies of the Renfe group, after negotiations with the administration concluded without an agreement and in light of what they consider an "administrative blockade" of the already signed agreements.
According to the organization in a statement, the strike will take place between 00:01 and 23:59 hours and aims to denounce the halt of commitments reached in railway safety, in protocols against meteorological emergencies, in the hiring of new train drivers, in the attention to accidents, and in the improvement of the reliability of rolling stock.
Semaf claims that it has presented proposals at all negotiation tables, but both the Ministry of Transport and the public entities involved —Renfe, Adif, and the State Agency for Railway Safety (AESF)— cite the slowness of the procedures and the difficulties in coordinating the different agencies.
The union demands the implementation of effective and mandatory protocols in the face of adverse meteorological episodes, as well as a regulation that unifies communications in risk scenarios.
Furthermore, it seeks to consolidate the "just culture" in the driving cabins and establish a direct channel between the trade union organizations, the AESF, and the Labor Inspection, with the aim of reinforcing safety and working conditions.
Finally, the group demands technical solutions to incidents of rolling stock, the correct application of interruptions in driving times, and the unlocking of the reduction coefficients for the retirement age. It also demands that the agreement of May 7 for new promotions be fulfilled and that the 1990 protocol on attention after an accident be fully applied.