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The early months of 2000 have seen coordinated or alternating strikes in the various public transport companies in Lisbon, sparked by disagreements over wage increases and the introduction of a 35-hour working week.
In spring 2000, negotiations over annual pay increases are underway in Lisbon public transport - city bus services (Companhia Carris de Ferro de Lisboa, Carris), the Metro (Metropolitano de Lisboa) and the Caminhos de Ferro Portugueses (CP) suburban railways (as well as in Oporto and nationally). The companies concerned are all either state-run or state-owned and all are covered by company-level agreements. These agreements are negotiated separately on an annual basis, although in the cases of Metro and Carris, trade union demands are similar this year. The unions are asking for a 5% pay increase (compared with a 2.3% rate of inflation in 1999), while the company administrations are offering of 2.5% at Carris, 2.7% at Metro and 3% at CP. The union demands correspond to those proposed by the General Confederation of Portuguese Workers (Confederação Geral dos Trabalhadores Portugueses, CGTP) and General Worker's Union (União Geral de Trabalhadores, UGT) in their annual platform of demands for 2000 (PT9911170N). According to management, the Metro union demands would mean a 20% increase in wage costs, while the increase for Carris would be of the order of 10%-12%.
Another controversial point in the negotiations is the 35-hour work week demanded for Carris and CP workers. Carris management has refused to consider reducing working time, even if this were to be phased in, and the management of both companies continues to be adamantly opposed to a 35-hour work week. Train drivers at CP have been in negotiations for several months over increased flexibility of working hours. The company is seeking a working day varying between six and 10 hours with changes in meal times and only one day of obligatory time off per week, in exchange for pay increases and the establishment of regulations for career advancement.
Bargaining in the transport companies may take place at more than one negotiating table, as in the case of CP with its separate negotiations with CGTP- and UGT-affiliated unions and the independent Union of Engine Drivers (Sindicato Nacional dos Maquinistas). CP has already reached agreement in some sets of negotiations. In Carris, negotiations take place with all the unions together. The Metro negotiations are held with CGTP and UGT unions.
With neither side making concessions during negotiations, the unions organised coordinated strikes in the transport companies at the end of March 2000. These have varied in length, usually lasting around three or four hours, with different occupational groups (such as line controllers) striking in order to prolong the work stoppage without unduly penalising workers. The strikes succeeded in paralysing all train and public transport in Lisbon and the surrounding areas on a number of occasions in February and March. Carris had seen six strikes so far this year by late March, while the CP strikes have in some cases affected the entire country. The strikes have been well supported.
In March, workers at RENFE, Spain's national railway network, also went on strike (ES0001273F), disrupting the international train service with Portugal for several days.