The tram unions, Metropolitano de Tenerife and the Cabildo reached an agreement this Monday, June 26, that puts an end to the labor conflict that broke out in February, during the celebration of the Carnival of Santa Cruz, when the indefinite strike was called. The agreement, which will have to be ratified by the workers’ assembly, scheduled for this Wednesday, June 28, includes, among many other aspects, the commitments to substitute another material for the carcinogenic element in the tram braking system, silica dust, and to hire more staff to improve working conditions.
The acting president of the Island Corporation, the socialist Pedro Martín, welcomes the fact that an agreement has been reached between the workers and the company that manages the tram service, Metropolitano de Tenerife, which belongs to the Cabildo, and that the strike. It stands out, among the achievements, that, “in terms of safety and health”, it is planned to establish a new regulation and address an alternative to silica sand. “In addition, we are already working on one of the proposals put forward to increase the number of tram drivers,” added Martín.
He thanked the “involvement” and “availability” of the workforce, and the “good work” of the manager, Pedro Ribeiro, and the Metropolitano team, which, “together with the contribution of the staff of the Cabildo de Tenerife, have combined efforts to find common ground and end the strike”. “It has gone on for a long time and it was necessary to redirect this situation definitively.”
In the same sense, it has been stated Juan Miguel Suárez, Secretary of Union Action FSC-CC OO Canarias, who expresses his satisfaction with the document that has been signed, and that, he insists, “has to be ratified by the workers.” For Suárez, this agreement opens a new stage of “social peace” in Metropolitano de Tenerife, so that “labour relations are normalized and the best service can be provided to citizens”.
Suárez assures that it is a very satisfactory agreement “for everyone” and “now it only needs to be put into practice.” “It is a fairly broad document, about fourteen pages, in which all our demands are answered, which we will pass on to the collective agreement.” Regarding the silica dust, he points out that it will be replaced and that, while this procedure is carried out, “preventive measures will be taken.”
Likewise, the secretary of Acción Sindical FSC-CC OO Canarias highlights the importance of achieving the commitment to increase the workforce, with the hiring of eight more people, six drivers and two technicians for the Human Resources area. For his part, he President of the Company Committee, Luis Jonatas Marreroinformed that the disciplinary proceedings open to the workers in the course of the conflict are archived
The tram strike began in February. This has consisted of carrying out strikes during the provision of the service and in concentrations of workers at the gates of the Cabildo de Tenerife. The unions denounced the breach of the collective agreement; the suspension, by the company, of the negotiations started at that time; the “promotion by hand” of members of the staff; “payments of personal supplements to workers as well as the stabilization of personnel, both procedures outside the agreed labor framework”; the “repeated breach” of occupational risk prevention measures, among other aspects.
After the impossibility of reaching an agreement with the first interlocutors in the negotiation, the Cabildo appointed the insular director of Human Resources and Legal Advice, Lidia Pereira, as interlocutor between the workers and the company, assisted by two heads of service linked to the area. The president of the Island Corporation then explained that this decision had been made “not to replace the people designated for it, but to open dialogue and incorporate broader visions to favor consensus in those positions” that could be further away.
Finally, an agreement has been reached. “And it has been thanks to the new spirit in the negotiation, which we did not achieve with the previous interlocutors and the vice president of the Cabildo, Enrique Arriaga (Cs)”, comments the secretary of Union Action FSC-CC OO Canarias. “We are very happy,” he added.
