The Spanish Railroad Engineers and Trainmen’s Union (SEMAF) ended a three-day nationwide strike early on Feb. 11 after reaching an agreement with the government over safety as well as other measures. The strike followed a series of train crashes. They included the worst disaster in many years, in Andalusia where two high-speed trains collided Jan. 18, with a death toll that has now risen to 47.
The “ongoing decline in rail safety is unacceptable,” the union told the press.
SEMAF said participation in the strike was close to 100% among drivers, except for those barred from striking under anti-labor laws forcing workers to cross the picket line to provide a minimum level of rail service. The union complied with the law, but said it was an abuse of workers’ right to strike. More than 330 trains were cancelled Feb. 9.
Most of Spain’s other unions that organize crafts on the railroad joined the strike as well. This included those in the country’s two largest union federations, the General Union of Workers (UGT) and the Trade Union Confederation of Workers Commissions (CCOO).
After the Jan. 18 disaster in Andalusia, government investigators found a 15-inch crack in the track near where one of the trains derailed. Two days later a commuter train derailed in Catalonia, killing the driver when a wall collapsed onto the track after heavy rainfall.
SEMAF-organized drivers in Catalonia walked off the job until track inspections and repairs were completed along routes in the region. Union members demanded and won the right to be part of the inspection teams.
SEMAF called the Feb. 9-11 strike to demand the hiring of more workers, greater government investment in maintenance and safety, and guarantees that bosses will act on rail workers’ warnings about dangerous conditions.
At the main rail station in Barcelona, Francois Monti told Reuters he’d waited for a train as three of them were cancelled due to the strike, but said, “I understand the train drivers.”
After the strike began, talks between the unions and the government led to a tentative agreement. SEMAF says the government will increase investment in rail infrastructure and hire more rail workers. The unions say they will monitor implementation of the agreement.