Metrotenerife and the Works Council of the transport company dependent on the Tenerife Island Council, reached an agreement on Monday modifying partially the strike started by the staff (202 employees) last February 9th, which became indefinite ten days later. This means that the strike will be suspended throughout the week during the time slot from 13:00 to 15:00, the period that generates the most conflict due to inconveniences to users, and will be completely lifted on Mondays and Fridays. This implies that the strike will only continue on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays during the time slots from 07:00 to 09:25 in the morning and from 20:00 to 22:00 at night. This was communicated by the company in a press release and confirmed by sources from the Works Council, who value the four points agreed upon.
Metrotenerife has agreed to carry out new measurements of the level of exposure to silica dust (SCR), a carcinogen and a key point of the conflict, for all maintenance workers and subcontractors working near the tracks. There is also the acknowledgment of dust exposure since the beginning of operations and guarantees for post-occupational health surveillance. Furthermore, there will be an investigation into the health issues affecting both company employees and subcontractors, with the acceptance of collaboration with the National Institute of Silicosis for analysis and protective measures. This summarizes the agreements reached mainly concerning silica dust. The Strike Committee believes that “we needed to reduce pressure in the time slots and therefore inconvenience users less.” They conclude: “Now it remains for the company to comply or we would go back to square one.”
Furthermore, there will be a Monitoring Committee ensuring compliance with the agreements reached. It will be composed of three representatives from each party, the company and the Strike Committee, and will be chaired by the mediator in the negotiations, lawyer and Labor Law professor, Mónica Molina. Her intervention since last week has been crucial in unlocking the conflict, at least partially. The next step will be the definitive suspension “if the goodwill we have appreciated is maintained and we are given assurances,” say worker sources, while meetings will continue in parallel until a final agreement is reached.