UGT and CCOO are preparing a strike on Rodalies to denounce the lack of staff and security on trains in Catalonia, a protest they will formalize this Friday and which could take place on Wednesday, May 27, or between June 4 and 5 if mediation with the Generalitat de Catalunya is unsuccessful.
The call comes at a time when, according to union sources, Catalonia concentrates more vandalism on trains and more aggressions against Renfe employees than any other autonomous community, while the company's next internal mobility will further reduce the workforce. The unions maintain that this cut will make it impossible to maintain the minimum of one conductor per Medium Distance train agreed upon after the accidents in Adamuz and Gelida.
UGT and CCOO will take the protest to mediation with the Generalitat
The railway sections of both unions will summon the Generalitat de Catalunya to a mediation table to try to avoid the stoppage. If there is no agreement with the Departament de Territori, the strike could be set for one of the two windows that the workers' representatives are considering.
The main demand is to incorporate more conductors to reinforce onboard surveillance. They also denounce that the next internal mobility call will leave Catalonia as the community most affected by the loss of personnel.
In that labor negotiation, the union organizations warn that there will be a shortage of conductors on 45 or 50 trains, a deficiency that would directly affect the provision of the service and the presence of staff in circulation.
Loss of staff clashes with the agreement signed after Adamuz and Gelida
The unions link the lack of staff with the commitment reached with the Ministry of Transport after the accidents in Adamuz and Gelida. That agreement stipulated at least one conductor per Medium Distance train.
Now they maintain that the planned reduction in Catalonia prevents compliance with that minimum. Union sources summarize the situation with a phrase they repeat in internal meetings: Catalonia "is losing a lot of people."
In addition to Medium Distance, the complaint extends to Rodalies de Barcelona, where in recent years it has been common for trains to run with fewer than three Renfe workers. This lower staffing, always according to the union diagnosis, reduces the capacity for attention and surveillance within the trains.
Catalonia concentrates more aggressions and more vandalism on trains
Union pressure is also supported by the safety data handled by employee representatives. Catalonia, these sources indicate, is the autonomous community with the most vandalism on trains and where Renfe employees receive the most aggressions.
In their territorial comparison, they add that in Catalonia, three times more aggressions and acts of vandalism are registered than in the rest of Spain. With this scenario, user platforms support the demand for more conductors and more surveillance in the Catalan railway system.
The strike call will be formalized this Friday and the unions place the possible dates for the stoppage on Wednesday, May 27, or between June 4 and 5.