Continues this Friday strike of urban and interurban buses convened by the unions Comisiones Obreras and CGT, which also took place this Thursday and is expected to extend to the next few days December 5, 9 and 23. The workers are going on strike due to the failure of negotiations between these two unions and the passenger transport employers.
Around 100,000 salaried drivers are called to support the strike. The strikes affect urban and interurban transportation, as well as school transportation throughout the country, with the exception of the province of Valencia, where mobility is very complicated due to the effects of DANA.
In the Community of Madrid, minimum services have been set at up to 80% to guarantee the operation of transport. The Ministry of Housing, Transport and Infrastructure has established minimum services for the Municipal Transport Company (EMT) of 75% in peak hours and 50% in off-peak hours. On intercity buses, minimum services will be 80% in peak hours, and 45% in off-peak hours. The peak hour includes in all cases from the beginning of the service provision at 6:00 a.m. until 9:30 a.m. For the night lines, coverage of 45% of the scheduled service has been set for all of them.
With regard to school transportation, since it is considered an essential service because it affects minors and their right to Education must also be guaranteed, the establishment of minimum services of 60% has been planned. Finally, for the transport of people with disabilities and reduced mobility, the minimum services will rise to 90%.
The strikes will take place from 00:00 to 23:59 each day. The last shifts starting before 00:00 hours and extending until the end of said shifts will be included.
Normality this Thursday
The follow-up to the strike this Thursday was, according to EMT sources, “very residual.” The day passed normally and without incident, except for some delays in the departure of minimum services. In Catalonia, the strike began at 6:30 a.m., with minimum services of 40% decreed by the Generalitat. The strike registers little incidence in Euskadi, little in Bizkaia and less in Álava and Gipuzkoa, according to data collected by EFE. In Pamplona, the company awarded the urban transport contract, TCC, has reported that 95% of the buses that circulate on a weekday have left, which is why it has described the monitoring of the strike day as “poor”.