Monica Molina’s first day of work, the proposed mediator by the Tenerife Island Council to resolve the labour conflict at the tram, ended with a positive outcome. The expert lawyer held a meeting yesterday at the El Cardonal tram stop depot with the Metrotenerife staff committee, which was attended only by the legal representatives of the 202 employees as the island’s Mobility councillor, Eulalia García, did not attend.
Molina’s intention is to meet with all the parties involved, both separately and together based on a schedule that continues today with the second appointment. The workers claim to be willing to “suspend” the current indefinite strikes in three time slots of the workday if they receive “legal guarantees” for the subsequent fulfilment of what is agreed by the public transport company dependent on the island corporation. The intention if this happens is to “continue negotiations before definitively calling off the strike”.
They understand that the document guaranteeing “the value of the agreement” must be endorsed by the Canarian Labour Court or another similar body, following the mediator’s intervention. They do not want a repeat of what, from their perspective, happened after the end of the previous strike on June 26, 2023, “when a document was signed to resolve the conflict and it was left as a dead letter because they have practically not fulfilled anything”. The company, on the other hand, argues that “75% of the agreement has been fulfilled and the remaining 25% depends on what is negotiated with the staff committee”.
Mónica Molina will request a report from the Metrotenerife Mutual Insurance and the Labour Inspection on how the silica dust affects those exposed to this carcinogenic element used for tram braking. Removing it is one of the main requests of the workers.
The mediator aims to bring all parties to the same table today. From the Labour Inspection to the Mutual Insurance, and from the company’s management to the union safety delegates.
Apart from the silica dust, the staff committee focuses its arguments on the Human Resources Department. For example, workers’ sources explain, “We do not agree on the number of colleagues who could benefit from the consolidation of positions at the Council after many years as interim workers. We count at least fourteen and the department head provided a list of only five”. On the other hand, “We signed in the agreement to call off the strike that the area would be reinforced. A lawyer position opens up and instead of going to a lawyer, they put an administrator”. They also disagree with “penalties for newly hired colleagues which we consider unfair”. They request “a reversal and annulment”.
The mediator is willing to resolve the labour dispute in the Tenerife tram as soon as possible. The workers seem willing to compromise in exchange for the mentioned legal guarantees. The Mobility Council of the Council demonstrates its interest in returning to normality with Molina’s proposal. And the company has the opportunity to show a negotiating attitude. All these factors come together to suggest that the strike can be resolved soon.
